CHICAGO | The Bears are maybe moving somewhere (who the fuck knows)

[Steely Dan]

Originally Posted by bhawk66

Formula racing is an equal sport to the NBA or any other.. They train harder in the off season than any NBA player....Try pulling G's sometime in competition.

i not saying that auto-racing isn't a very competitive endeavor with intense amounts of training and skill-development involved.

i just place anything that involves the engineering and fabrication of a vehicle (car, motorcycle, bicycle, sailboat, whatever) in a different category from the more conventional field & court team sports that are more pure displays of raw athleticism/skill.

but that's just me. if you wanna call auto-racing a sport the equal of basketball or football, that's fine. i just see them as too different.



anyway, back on topic, the NFL is easily one of the most lucrative professional sports leagues on the planet, and they don't need a single penny of public money to build lavish palaces for themselves.

and the recent poll of arlington heights residents shows that an overwhelming majority of them agree with that assessment.

[nomarandlee]

Originally Posted by bhawk66

Thanks. Yea, the NFL must make their dough on advertising slots. It clearly isn't all from gate receipts with only 9/8 home games per year. Strange biz. I never bought a Budweiser or a Rotovac because of a half time promo. Like ever. SMH.

Even still, those numbers seem suspect. For the NFL at least. I'd sincerely like to see that broken down if ever I had the chance. 53 man roster all making millions. Injuries and replacements (ie: practice squad on the payroll). Equipment, trainers, staff, friggin water bottles. And a scant 9 home games. Hmmmm.

The list is obviously just about revenue, not profit. Needless to say that the NFL media contracts agreements are the largest in sports. It absolutely owns a nation of 320million on Sundays (and part of Mondays/Thursdays). Then there is all the ancillary media coverage and hype that is talked about the rest of the week and even the off-season.

What I would also find interesting is where cumulatively the NCAA football and basketball fall on the rankings.......


As far as the poll numbers regarding AH residents I am a bit surprised as well....that more didn't come out against it. I am also disappointed that even more residents were not against tax-payer funding as a non-starter as part of the move by the Bears. Really, I think it is high time these tax subsidies to pro teams should be illegal in the country, but especially in this case, there is absolutely no need for any resident of AH, Cook, or Illinois to feel the need to lure the Bears to Arlington Heights. The Bears now own the land, and it is up to them to develop and make something of it on their dime. Where else will they move, St.Louis? That worked out really well for their cross-town rivals (The Cardinals).

[VKChaz]

I wonder if some in AH are thinking this development will raise property values. An entirely different animal, but that was the experience in Inglewood, CA (SoFi) though that would have likely happened anyway. Regarding subsidies, color me surprised if there are not some kind of handouts - TIFs and whatnot

[left of center]

^ Whatever handouts they get will be chump change. AH could maybe afford a few million here and there, but that's it. No where near the multi-billion dollar potential cost of the new stadium.

The state and county surely won't be offering them anything either, especially after all the money put into the Soldier Field renovation and having the Bears bail on it anyway.

[woodrow]

Originally Posted by VKChaz

Sports stadiums these days are as much - or more - about adjacent land development opportunities as they are about sports. Wouldn't residential bring in more money than warehouses?

Santa Clara seems a good comparison. And probably close to the level of stadium that would be constructed, unless a dome is added

And this is why the Bears will be leaving. They have to look no further than Wrigley and see what the Ricketts have done. Sure they have a stadium, but they also have an office building with retail and restaurants and a hotel with restaurants, and soon a sports book operation. They have a year round revenue stream, not to mention significant real estate assets. Chicago cannot offer that to the Bears since the stadium is located in park land.

[chicagodeckerdude]

At first I was upset, the Bears are a "Chicago" team etc. Screw the Bears etc. Then I started to think about it more and changed my mind. I support a massive entertainment complex out there with a modern stadium. The only thing that I still can't get past is if they build a dome. I connect Chicago Bears with cold winters, rain, snow etc. Football just doesnt feel the same under a dome to me.

Also, I read a article selling on the idea of Chicago/Soldier Field being a good option for a expansion team when they move. I like the idea of another team in town. Like we used to with the Cardinals here before they left.

[ardecila]

I think the dome will become a sticking point. Even with the other real estate opportunities, the Bears probably can't afford to build a dome with their own money, especially when Chicago has some of the country's highest construction costs.

They may try to present politicians with a choice: a barebones stadium that is only active for 9 home games a year, or a domed stadium that can host Super Bowls and Final Fours.

Personally I don't give a crap if we host those events or not - there is now so much competition from warm-weather cities and other cities with domes that Chicago would only get the event every 20 years at best. I hope our leaders will also resist this temptation... if the Bears want a dome, they should pay for one out of pocket or not at all.

[left of center]

Originally Posted by ardecila

I think the dome will become a sticking point. Even with the other real estate opportunities, the Bears probably can't afford to build a dome with their own money, especially when Chicago has some of the country's highest construction costs.

They may try to present politicians with a choice: a barebones stadium that is only active for 9 home games a year, or a domed stadium that can host Super Bowls and Final Fours.

Personally I don't give a crap if we host those events or not - there is now so much competition from warm-weather cities and other cities with domes that Chicago would only get the event every 20 years at best. I hope our leaders will also resist this temptation... if the Bears want a dome, they should pay for one out of pocket or not at all.

100%. The state should not subsidize the Bears leaving its biggest city for the suburbs. I suppose the Bears could use scare tactics like threatening to leave the state, but the cat is out of the bag and everyone knows they want to go to AH so that tactic wouldn't work.

If the Bears don't want a dome, then let them spend a billion+ dollars building a stadium that, much like Soldier Field in 2002, will be obsolete the moment it opens. They would be idiots to repeat the same mistake twice, but given the teams they have been fielding as of late, maybe they actually are

[ithakas]

I grew up near Soldier Field and have been to a handful of games over the years, but I'm not a huge football fan so won't really be heartbroken about them leaving the city.

I'm more interested in what their relocation opens up for Grant Park and the Museum Campus. In my opinion the city's been slow to develop Grant Park into something more scenic and less auto-centric because it's been a hybrid park/outdoor event center for most of the last half century.

I'd be interested in the city moving forward with its plans to upgrade the Museum Campus, turning the Lucas Museum parking lot into a great lawn and relocating Huntington Bank Pavilion next to Soldier Field so all three areas can be used in tandem to host large outdoor events, freeing up Grant Park to be... a park.

[Rizzo]

Originally Posted by left of center

^ Whatever handouts they get will be chump change. AH could maybe afford a few million here and there, but that's it. No where near the multi-billion dollar potential cost of the new stadium.

The state and county surely won't be offering them anything either, especially after all the money put into the Soldier Field renovation and having the Bears bail on it anyway.

I speculate any handouts from Arlington Heights would be in the form of fee waivers, services snd infrastructure improvements. Basically they’ll use city resources, and residents and businesses will pay for all of it. Worse is if they bury private infrastructure and maintenance improvement agreements decades in the future

At least with Chicago, the per resident cost of soldier field is practically negligible. If I was a property owner in AH I’d be concerned. I’d much rather prefer a minor league baseball stadium where I could get immediate returns and enjoyment of what my taxes pay for vs a place I’d rarely go to.

Regarding your comment of the Bears even considering a threat to leave the state, that would never happen. The NFL wouldn’t let it happen. They’d be abandoning a lucrative market for what?

[VKChaz]

Originally Posted by Rizzo

I speculate any handouts from Arlington Heights would be in the form of fee waivers, services snd infrastructure improvements. Basically they’ll use city resources, and residents and businesses will pay for all of it. Worse is if they bury private infrastructure and maintenance improvement agreements decades in the future

At least with Chicago, the per resident cost of soldier field is practically negligible. If I was a property owner in AH I’d be concerned. I’d much rather prefer a minor league baseball stadium where I could get immediate returns and enjoyment of what my taxes pay for vs a place I’d rarely go to.

Regarding your comment of the Bears even considering a threat to leave the state, that would never happen. The NFL wouldn’t let it happen. They’d be abandoning a lucrative market for what?

Some of what AH can offer is a portion of whatever long-term revenue the site generates to AH - sales tax, entertainment tax.... That adds up.

Probably won't happen, but LA did go quite a while without a team

[ardecila]

Originally Posted by left of center

If the Bears don't want a dome, then let them spend a billion+ dollars building a stadium that, much like Soldier Field in 2002, will be obsolete the moment it opens. They would be idiots to repeat the same mistake twice, but given the teams they have been fielding as of late, maybe they actually are

I don't know what you mean by "obsolete". Plenty of (most) cold weather teams still play in open-air stadiums.

Broncos, Chiefs, Packers, Bengals, Browns, Steelers, Bills, Eagles, Jets, Giants, Patriots. I don't think any of those teams are considering a domed stadium, either. NYC even hosted an open-air Super Bowl at the Meadowlands.

I'm sure the Bears' new stadium will address the biggest issue with Soldier Field, which is seating capacity - and will probably include more extensive luxury box facilities and dining. They may also try to fully enclose the concourses so they can be heated/cooled even if the seating bowl is open air.

[nomarandlee]

I expect the Bears first revealing to be short on specifics and be largely conceptually but it should be interesting to see the general vision nonetheless.

https://sports.yahoo.com/bears-hold-...unity-meeting-

025528567.html

Bears will hold an “informational community meeting” next Thursday on Arlington Heights development

Mike Florio
Thu, September 1, 2022 at 10:55 PM

Next Thursday, the NFL will kick off a new season. At the same time, the Bears will conduct an “informational community meeting” regarding their potential new home in Arlington Heights.

The Bears have scheduled the session for 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. CDT on September 8, at the John Hersey High School gymnasium in Arlington Heights.......

Still, it shows that the Bears are very serious about the possibility of leaving Soldier Field for what the announcement calls “a transit-oriented mixed-use entertainment district anchored by a stadium that would be one of the largest development projects in Illinois state history.”......

.

[twister244]

Originally Posted by nomarandlee

I expect the Bears first revealing to be short on specifics and be largely conceptually but it should be interesting to see the general vision nonetheless.

https://sports.yahoo.com/bears-hold-...unity-meeting-
.

I will say this:

If the Bears moving to AH means we get enhanced Metra service with a new transit development linking downtown to the burbs...... Then I am all in support of that. I have family in the NW burbs that really don't enjoy taking the Metra.... only because it runs fairly infrequently on the weekends. If we had something like a Paris RER schedule, that would fantastic.

[bnk]

They better Not make the mistake of not making it a retractable dome, that doomed SF, that and its pathetic capacity. With a capacity of 61,500, Soldier Field is the smallest stadium in the league – so small, in fact, that it’s not eligible to host major events like the World Cup or Super Bowl.
Bears would have no problem filling a bigger stadium. If its going to be open air than that an idiotic waste of potential revenue. Half of the year would be wasted with it not being a retractable dome.


https://chicago.suntimes.com/bears/2...adium-purchase

Bears to unveil plans for Arlington Heights stadium site
The Bears will unveil conceptual plans for their potential new home in Arlington Heights on Sept. 8, the team said Thursday.

By Jason Lieser and Patrick Finley Sept 1, 2022, 4:01pm CDT

...




will detail what a Bears statement called “one of the largest development projects in Illinois state history.” The stadium site will feature a “transit-oriented mixed-use entertainment district.” The meeting will not feature specifics about a stadium design.


Almost every stadium in the league far exceeds Soldier Field’s comfort and amenities, and late-season games on the lakefront can be brutally cold. It has been widely assumed that any new stadium would be indoors.













This is what we should be striving for. Superbowls, final 4's Olympics, BigTen championships, Collage Bowl games, winter conventions on and on.


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AT%26T_Stadium



The facility, owned by the city of Arlington, can also be used for a variety of other activities such as concerts, basketball games, soccer, college and high school football contests, rodeos, motocross, Spartan Races, and professional wrestling...

The stadium is widely referred to as Jerry World after Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, who originally envisioned it as a large entertainment venue. The stadium can seat around 80,000 people, but can be reconfigured to hold around 100,000 seats making it the largest stadium in the NFL by seating capacity. Additional attendance is made possible by the Party Pass (open areas) sections behind the seats in each end zone which are positioned on a series of six elevated platforms connected by stairways. The record attendance for an NFL regular season game was set in 2009 with a crowd of 105,121.

[ardecila]

Originally Posted by twister244

I will say this:

If the Bears moving to AH means we get enhanced Metra service with a new transit development linking downtown to the burbs...... Then I am all in support of that. I have family in the NW burbs that really don't enjoy taking the Metra.... only because it runs fairly infrequently on the weekends. If we had something like a Paris RER schedule, that would fantastic.

LOL, I don't know why you think this would happen. Soldier Field is already next to a Metra line, and all Metra Electric does is run an extra train or two on Sundays - if you're lucky. Metra's busiest line (the BNSF) has a direct track connection to Soldier Field via the St Charles Air Line, but Metra has never tried to run gameday service from Aurora/Naperville. They'd rather make fans take a CTA bus, for an extra fare, from Union or Ogilvie.

The Bears moving out to the burbs means fans are more likely to drive than ever. There will be massive tailgating lots around the new stadium, guaranteed.

Originally Posted by bnk

They better Not make the mistake of not making it a retractable dome, that doomed SF, that and its pathetic capacity.

hell no, this is a terrible idea unless you want to light billions of dollars in taxpayer money on fire. SF's stadium is just fine without a dome, and the capacity is in the high 60,000s just like many other NFL stadiums. Even the new SoFi stadium in LA that everyone loves to drool over has only 1500 more seats than SF.

If the bears can do an old-school inflatable dome using their own money, I'm fine with that.

[Steely Dan]

^ and as i mentioned earlier in the thread:

Originally Posted by Steely Dan

my guess is that trying to ride a metra train out to the new stadium from the city on a football sunday will likely be a train-wreck (pun intended). how many passengers can the longest fully-loaded metra trainset carry at max capacity? 2,500 people maybe?

metra's gonna need to find a way to run A LOT of trains out before kick-off and then A LOT of trains back after the game or it's gonna be a real shitshow. can metra find the manpower to level up for that kind of crushing single event/single site passenger load on a sunday morning?

some of my past experiences with trying to take metra back to the city after concerts at ravinia don't leave me with much optimism (and ravinia's max capacity is only ~18,000).

Originally Posted by ardecila

If the bears can do an old-school inflatable dome using their own money, I'm fine with that.

considering the issues the old pontiac silverdome (detroit) and HHH metrodome (minneapolis) had with their inflatable roofs in similar climates to chicago, i think it'd be pretty unlikely that the bears go that route.

both the lions and the vikings now play in domed stadiums with conventionally structured roofs for a reason.

in fact, i can't think of any teams in any major american sports league that still play under an air-supported dome.

[ardecila]

Yes, the Ravinia situation is awful and there's not even a good excuse for it. No freight trains run on the UP-N line (south of Lake Bluff at least) - Metra just refuses to add service. Then they made the trains free to Ravinia ticket holders, which just made the crowding even worse.

[bnk]

Originally Posted by ardecila

LOL, I don't know why you think this would happen. Soldier Field is already next to a Metra line, and all Metra Electric does is run an extra train or two on Sundays - if you're lucky. Metra's busiest line (the BNSF) has a direct track connection to Soldier Field via the St Charles Air Line, but Metra has never tried to run gameday service from Aurora/Naperville. They'd rather make fans take a CTA bus, for an extra fare, from Union or Ogilvie.

The Bears moving out to the burbs means fans are more likely to drive than ever. There will be massive tailgating lots around the new stadium, guaranteed.



hell no, this is a terrible idea unless you want to light billions of dollars in taxpayer money on fire. SF's stadium is just fine without a dome, and the capacity is in the high 60,000s just like many other NFL stadiums. Even the new SoFi stadium in LA that everyone loves to drool over has only 1500 more seats than SF.

If the bears can do an old-school inflatable dome using their own money, I'm fine with that.

So you want none of the things I mentioned. No Super Bowl or anything I suggested for you than. It's the 21st century man. This we will suffer is the cold mentality has to stop, we are in modern times now.
You can watch off of those other thinks I mentioned on TV in a Domed Stadium in some other City.

Let it sit stagnate for 6 months out of the year.

I don't even think the Bears are stupid enough to do that. And yes the Bears are stupid. Just look at that UFO monstrosity that desecrated SF. BTW Who said Taxpayers are paying anything anyway?

We know the bears are cheap so will will not get a Jerry Dome but something more like this but more seating. But unfortunately not this nice. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SoFi_Stadium


https://www.bleachernation.com/bears...ngton-heights/


The Folks Who Designed the Raiders’ New Stadium Will Help the Bears Design One for Arlington Heights

March 17, 2022, by Luis Medina Chicago Bears

The worst-kept secret around town is the Bears’ exploration of building a new stadium in Arlington Heights. Back in September, word broke that the Bears were in agreement to buy Arlington Park. The land that comes with that purchase is the top spot for a possible new home for the team should it decide to leave Soldier Field. And while reaching a purchase agreement might look like part of a pressure campaign, the Bears’ latest move is a more concrete step toward leaving Soldier Field.


That’s because, to help them in this process, the Bears have reportedly chosen Manica Architecture as part of the team that will aid them in designing their new stadium in Arlington Heights:

Breaking: The @ChicagoBears are working with Manica Architecture, Jones Lang LaSalle, CAA Icon and Legends/CSL on initial concepts for their new #NFL stadium in Arlington Heights. https://t.co/Dt8hXqAXCr

— Don Muret (@breakground) March 16, 2022










https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allegiant_Stadium


Tenants and events

The stadium replaced Sam Boyd Stadium and serves as the home of both the Las Vegas Raiders and the UNLV Rebels football program.

College football
Pac-12 Football Championship Game
On July 24, 2019, the Pac-12 Conference announced that the 2020 and 2021 Pac-12 Football Championship Game would be played at Allegiant Stadium, moving from Levi's Stadium.[89] Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the debut of the game in Las Vegas was delayed to 2021,[90] with the 2020 game instead being held at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum — home venue of the South division champion USC Trojans.[91]

Las Vegas Bowl
Allegiant Stadium is the host of the Las Vegas Bowl, which moved from Sam Boyd Stadium. The game features a team from the Pac-12 against a team from the SEC or Big Ten, alternating annually.[92][93] The inaugural game was expected to be held in 2020, but that year's edition of the Las Vegas Bowl was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[94] The inaugural 2021 edition featured Wisconsin defeating Arizona State 20-13.

Vegas Kickoff Classic
In March 2021, a new neutral site college football game dubbed the Vegas Kickoff Classic was announced. Administered by the Las Vegas Bowl, the game is a yearly neutral site college football game that takes place each September. The inaugural edition featured the BYU Cougars defeating the Arizona Wildcats 24-16 on September 4, 2021.[95] The official attendance of 54,541 fans was the largest crowd to ever watch a college football game (or any other college athletic event) in the history of the state of Nevada.

East–West Shrine Bowl
In July 2021, it was announced that Allegiant Stadium would host the East–West Shrine Bowl on February 3, 2022 as part of the NFL Pro Bowl week.[97]

Shamrock Series (Notre Dame-BYU)
In September 2021, it was announced that Allegiant Stadium will host a college football game between the Notre Dame Fighting Irish and the BYU Cougars on October 8, 2022, as part of Notre Dame's Shamrock Series, with the Fighting Irish as the home team.[98]

NFL
Super Bowl LVIII
Allegiant Stadium will host Super Bowl LVIII on February 11, 2024.

Pro Bowl
On June 16, 2020, the NFL announced that the stadium would host the 2021 Pro Bowl. The game was deferred to 2022 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[101] The game featured American Football Conference defeating the National Football Conference by a score of 41-35

Soccer
Allegiant Stadium hosted the 2021 CONCACAF Gold Cup Final on August 1, 2021

The stadium is also scheduled to host the 2021 and 2022 Leagues Cup between Major League Soccer and Liga MX

Concerts





https://www.allegiantstadium.com/sta...0of%2065%2C000.



.

[bnk]

Old Story posted last year





https://ontapsportsnet.com/bears/ima...ton-park-dream


Imagining the Bears' New Arlington Park Dream

Now that the Bears have signed a purchase agreement for Arlington Park, what could a brand new, beautiful stadium look like in Arlington Heights?

RON LUCESEP 30, 2021 3:41 PM EDT




Amidst the news that the Chicago Bears have signed a purchase agreement for the former Arlington International race track, it's time to dream. What kind of dream you ask? Well, its time to dream of the future, specifically the Bears' new home in Arlington Heights.

The news regarding the Bears' potential move to the northwest suburbs has triggered numerous reactions from fans. Some fans are all for the move, and even hope it happens sooner rather than later. As for the other group, they continue to clammer about how the Bears need to remain in Chicago in order to be the "Chicago Bears".

For starters, the Dallas Cowboys, Los Angeles Rams, and both New York franchises don't play within the city limits they represent. Sure, in terms of mileage from Solider Field to Arlington Heights its a farther trip than the aforementioned teams. However, Chicago has more resources in terms of transit to get fans to the game in the suburbs. The point being, the team can play outside the city limits that it represents. As a matter of fact, many teams do.

Now, let's turn to the fun part. It's time to imagine what a brand new stadium, with surrounding amenities, would look like. Currently, SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California sits on 298 acres of land, housing not only the stadium, but also retail locations, commercial office space, a hotel, green space, and residential space. Arlington Park is 326 acres of land. Let's start to dream.


Hotel

Taking a page out of SoFi Stadium's book, why wouldn't the Bears want to have a hotel? Not only could the hotel house the visiting team that they're set to play, but they could also open it up for business 365 days a year. The assumption here is that the Bears will own the stadium and anything surrounding it, so that's a consistent measure of income for the team year-round.

Another team in Chicago made a similar move. The Chicago Cubs built a hotel right next to Wrigley Field with hopes of bringing business in as baseball season rolls in Chicago. That influx of income will not only be beneficial for the Bears, but it will surely be a gorgeous hotel for guests to stay at. The allure of luxury alone will make the hotel a destination point near the stadium.

Sportsbook

Now that sports betting is legal in the state of Illinois, why wouldn't the Bears want to have a sportsbook on the same land as their stadium? This should be a no-brainer as well after the Bears announced their exclusive deal with BetRivers as the official sportsbook of the team.


Now, with plenty of space to accommodate, the Arlington Park location could house a spectacular sportsbook that rivals some of the best casinos in the state. The Bears' new fancy sportsbook could even be as big as ten times the size of the sportsbook at Rivers Casino in Des Plaines and still be microscopic on the plot of land.

Need we say more? A state-of-the-art sportsbook not only looks good on game day, but it also provides an attraction for year-round income for the NFL's oldest franchise.

Restaurants/Retail Galore

Ah yes, restaurants and retail are something that the Arlington Park location could add and immediately be different in comparison to Soldier Field. If you've ever been to Soldier Field, the nearest restaurant that isn't a concession stand in the stadium is about a 15-20 minute walk. Most of those places are also on Michigan Ave.

The Bears and city of Chicago discussed a plan to add some restaurants around Solider Field and the museum campus, but nothing has happened. Instead, the Bears can build their new beauty of a stadium, then go ahead and put these prime spots up for auction. All the top restaurants in and around the city of Chicago will flock to be near the newest NFL stadium.

In addition to restaurants, the team can choose what kind of retail shops they would like to have located near the stadium as well. Attracting some top retail outlets would be another way for the Bears to bring in income on the other 350+ days of the year that the Bears don't play at home.

Residential?

SoFi Stadium went ahead and added residential space onto their 298-acre plot of land. Why couldn't the Bears do something similar?

Sure, living in Arlington Heights isn't like living in downtown Chicago, but having some beautiful residential space could attract a lot of people to the suburbs.

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