CHICAGO | Da Bears | New Domed Lakefront Stadium Proposal

[sentinel]

Originally Posted by bnk

AH still makes the most sense. Why can't Pritzker help everyone out and end this Mexican standoff with Cook County.

Chicago would cost twice as much, and no one wants to put taxpayer dollars to keep it in the city at least on SSP.


I don't either want this to be subsidized by taxpayers, but 5x's increasing the tax burden in AH is a huge hurtle that hopefully that can be met in the middle somewhere. This is a big issue...

Exactly what do you think Pritzker can or should do?? Also, not sure why you have such an obsession with AH as the new Bears home...it's not as optimal a location as people think it is, and it's also not the most easily accessible area for many people, especially from the densest parts of the metropolitan area.
At the end of the day, the Bears are a very wealthy organization, and if they were run more efficiently AND actually cared about winning, I would be more supportive. But they're neither, and really don't need any public money to build a new stadium.

[gandalf612]

Originally Posted by bnk

I don't either want this to be subsidized by taxpayers, but 5x's increasing the tax burden in AH is a huge hurtle that hopefully that can be met in the middle somewhere

If the Bears didn't want the tax to go up 5x, they shouldn't have paid 5x what the land was worth

[ardecila]

Originally Posted by sentinel

Exactly what do you think Pritzker can or should do?? Also, not sure why you have such an obsession with AH as the new Bears home...it's not as optimal a location as people think it is, and it's also not the most easily accessible area for many people, especially from the densest parts of the metropolitan area.
At the end of the day, the Bears are a very wealthy organization, and if they were run more efficiently AND actually cared about winning, I would be more supportive. But they're neither, and really don't need any public money to build a new stadium.

They can reset the tax basis to what the racetrack paid. Yes, it's technically a handout paid from future tax revenues, but it doesn't take a single cent of taxpayer money today. I think you can do this with a TIF, but the ship may have sailed now that Kaegi officially raised the assessed value of the property. (Honestly a genius move by Democrats to keep the upper hand with the team.) So a Springfield fix / one-time amendment to the TIF Act may be needed.

In return, the Bears need to pay upfront to offset any impacts, including roadwork, so that taxpayers don't pay anything on the back end. Most likely the Bears will choose "transportation management" with cops and traffic aides during events, rather than permanently widening roads at an exorbitant cost. Somehow Lambeau Field manages to get 80,000 fans in and out for Packer games with a pretty modest road network.


If the Bears want to do residential development on the site, that may come with additional impacts to Arlington Heights in terms of schools, police/fire etc so those buildings should pay full freight in property tax, but that should happen after they are built, not before.

[aaron38]

AH is in Cook County. The issue isn’t with the county. It’s with Chicago.

[untitledreality]

Originally Posted by bnk

It has to make financial sense for this to progress. The bears clearly want their own stadium owned by themselves and can make money on it on the off seasons.


Anyone have a better Idea? If so, I'd like to hear of it.

Use their own capital. For everything.

Pay the taxes they rightly owe.


The franchise is appraised at over five billion dollars. The McCaskey family has a net worth of multiple billions of dollars.

Every single cent that family has to their name, every cent tied to the Bears franchise, has come from the fans and the people of Chicago. If that is not enough, the city, the region, the state, should tell them to fuck off.

[untitledreality]

Originally Posted by bnk

https://www.chicagobusiness.com/greg...property-taxes

Kaegi moves to jack up Bears' Arlington Heights tax tab

By Greg Hinz

May 02, 2023 02:01 PM

Cook County Assessor Fritz Kaegi has thrown a haymaker punch at the Chicago Bears as they ponder whether to proceed with plans to build a stadium complex in Arlington Heights, moving to raise sixfold the property tax value of the land involved even before any construction occurs. The move is being appealed to the Cook County Board of Review, a three-person panel that can overrule Kaegi’s decisions. But if the assessment is upheld, it would cost the team roughly an additional $15 million a year in property taxes — a very steep price the NFL franchise would have to pay..


https://www.cookcountyassessor.com/a...or-fritz-kaegi

The Bears' operating income for the 2021 fiscal year was North of $150 million. They will manage just fine.

[twister244]

Originally Posted by untitledreality

Use their own capital. For everything.

Pay the taxes they rightly owe.


The franchise is appraised at over five billion dollars. The McCaskey family has a net worth of multiple billions of dollars.

Every single cent that family has to their name, every cent tied to the Bears franchise, has come from the fans and the people of Chicago. If that is not enough, the city, the region, the state, should tell them to fuck off.

I think everyone is agreed on this position. Especially since these f$ckers haven't won a Super Bowl since I was conceived.....

[SnowFire]

Originally Posted by twister244

I think everyone is agreed on this position. Especially since these f$ckers haven't won a Super Bowl since I was conceived.....

Hey me too. I member the 85 bears team having maxed stats in the old football games. How the turn tables.

[bhawk66]

Originally Posted by SnowFire

Hey me too. I member the 85 bears team having maxed stats in the old football games. How the turn tables.

What? Maxed stats? What?

Snow what?

[aaron38]

Originally Posted by untitledreality

Every single cent that family has to their name, every cent tied to the Bears franchise, has come from the fans and the people of Chicago. If that is not enough, the city, the region, the state, should tell them to fuck off.

Huh? I grew up a Bears fan in the Quad Cities, 3 hours away. There are more Bears fans outside Chicago than in the city. The people of Chicago do not own the team. No government agency ever forced me to watch a game, buy a ticket or buy merch. If you’re mad about all the tax breaks, complain about those.
I don’t want teams subsidized. But they also aren’t piggy banks.

[Toasty Joe]

^ I think you misread. You fall into the fan category. And the Bears have always played in Chicago, so any subsidies they've already received (i.e., early 2000s renovation) were paid by tax dollars provided by the people of Chicago. The remainder of the money earned has been from fans through tickets, merch, and TV deals. Being a fan and a taxpaying citizen are not mutually exclusive, but there's obviously overlap.

[aaron38]

And I didn’t vote for those subsidies. I hate the Soldier Field renovation. So I really don’t see why the region and state should tell them to F off. Chicago did that, Chicago owns the debt.

[Toasty Joe]

Gotta work on your reading comprehension. Money from fans + subsidies from Chicago taxpayers (not you) = McCaskey family worth from the Bears. Given the franchise and family's respective valuations, the argument is that they have plenty to build a stadium without additional taxpayer money involved. Nothing more, nothing less.

[SnowFire]

Originally Posted by bhawk66

What? Maxed stats? What?

Snow what?

Back when football games just gave a stat rank for the whole team instead of each player. Some games had historical teams you could use/unlock. Since you rented games back then and they saved to the cartridge, you would usually get a fully unlocked save file. The 85 bears often showed up as a team to pick which had all its off/def/special/ect stats at the max possible value.

[Randomguy34]

Look who's crawling back to downtown

Bears revive Chicago stadium hopes as season kicks off

As the Chicago Bears kick off the 2023 NFL season hosting the division-rival Green Bay Packers at Soldier Field on Sunday, their fans can be newly optimistic about the team’s future in the city.

In a letter to season ticket holders, Bears president Kevin Warren said the team has reengaged with the city of Chicago, reviving an idea once believed to be dead — a new, indoor stadium complex in downtown Chicago.

In his letter, Warren acknowledged that Arlington Heights and other municipalities were still under consideration — but the focus was pointedly on the idea of building a new stadium in the city itself.

https://www.chicagobusiness.com/spor...s-season-kicks

[galleyfox]

Originally Posted by Randomguy34

Look who's crawling back to downtown

Bears revive Chicago stadium hopes as season kicks off

.

https://www.chicagobusiness.com/spor...s-season-kicks

Slow news day? We already know the Bears had discussions with the city weeks ago.

But nothing new was indicated in the letter that hasn’t already been reported on, and the same complications for both Arlington Heights and Chicago remain.

https://twitter.com/AdamHoge/status/...898957631?s=20

[twister244]

I meant to post these from last weekend, but forgot to. I was on the UP-NW route from family back into the city on Monday and snapped a couple photos of Arlington Park. Sorry for the quality as it was from a Metra train. Kinda sad to see this if the Bears don't ultimately build a stadium there.

[Klippenstein]

^ Yeah, as I’ve said before, they should’ve encouraged them to incorporate the grandstand into their development. And even if that wasn’t the case, not allowed its demolition until they were actually planning on breaking ground. I guess the one incentive they could’ve provided was lowering the taxes if they kept the grandstand in place.

[nomarandlee]

Originally Posted by Klippenstein

^ Yeah, as I’ve said before, they should’ve encouraged them to incorporate the grandstand into their development. And even if that wasn’t the case, not allowed its demolition until they were actually planning on breaking ground. I guess the one incentive they could’ve provided was lowering the taxes if they kept the grandstand in place.

This whole thing is getting convoluted fast. I still think that the Bears will end up in AH for several reasons.

Most importantly, if the county's tax assessment remains firm, I am guessing any subsequent attempts for the Bears to sell to another buyer would likely take a decent financial hit on the sale.

Also, I think an essential priority is to own their stadium and, ideally, diversify their revenue streams with an adjacent commercial/retail ownership licensing agreement. Without selling their AH land, would they be able to afford any city parcels where they could theoretically do that? Namely, longshot and complicated purchase agreements at the Sox site, UC lots, Lincoln Yards etc., that would likely involve new zoning agreements?

From where I see things, it seems that the AH is holding all the cards, and the Bears are scrambling to get even marginally better terms somehow.

[Klippenstein]

I was mainly addressing the demolition of the grandstand. I think it could’ve been repurposed.