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https://blockclubchicago.org/2022/09...ing-team-says/
Bears’ Plan For $5 Billion Stadium Campus Doesn’t Include Retractable Roof
Noah Asimow
8:47 AM CDT on Sep 9, 2022
CHICAGO — The Bears might be talking about moving to the suburbs so they can play in a larger, fancier stadium on a
$5 billion campus — but those plans
don’t include a retractable roof, officials said Thursday.
The stadium that would be built at the proposed Arlington Park campus would be enclosed,
but the heavy cost of a retractable roof would put that beyond the team’s reach, Bears President Ted Phillips said at a Thursday night meeting where the team’s leaders outlined possible plans for the park.
The crowd — which filled up about half the auditorium at John Hersey High School in suburban Arlington Heights —
applauded at news of the enclosed roof, but they groaned when they heard it wouldn’t be retractable.
...
They also extensively quoted Daniel Burnham — the famed architect and city planner known for his work in Chicago, the city the team now says it could leave — when describing the scope of their own plan.
“We hope that these plans are no small plans, and they have magic in them,” architect Paul Milana said.
...
The Bears lease Soldier Field — which has the smallest capacity of any NFL stadium — from the Park District.
It would cost the team about $84 million to break their lease as early as 2026, the Tribune has reported.
In response, Lightfoot has pitched a $2 billion redevelopment of Soldier Field to benefit the Bears and boost capacity —
and has suggested Chicago will lure another team here if the Bears do leave.
...
At Soldier Field, they have to split revenues with the Park District while paying rent; at their own complex in Arlington Heights, they’d be able to build their own revenue streams.
Bears leaders and a
rchitects with the firm Hart Howerton offered no new stadium renderings Thursday, instead describing their general vision for the property, which they said could include two- to eight-story townhomes, “parking fields” adjacent to the stadium,
a sports book, a “Bears fit” workout facility, public parks, ponds for canoeing and kayaking, restaurants, a hotel
and a modernized Metra station.
A traffic planner also said that the team is looking to change exits and entrances for Northwest Highway, as well as Route 53, which run north and west of the property.
Milana, continuing the Burnham theme, said a large, grassy public park and green space in the center of the development might have “echoes” of the Midway Plaisance. Phillips promised “a world-class” facility that could host Super Bowls, Final Fours and other major sporting events.
When asked if there would be tailgating, Phillips had a quick reply, saying, “Oh, yeah, baby.”
...
The project would cost nearly $5 billion and take up to 10 years to complete, Phillips said.
...
Some residents said they are hesitant about the possibility of increased taxes and traffic, but almost all were excited about the possible move.
“I live in the city now, and the worst part is getting to Soldier Field,” said Kaushal Patel, a season ticket holder and Edison Park resident.
Patel had no sentimentality about the Bears leaving Chicago.
“I think it would be different if it was Wrigley.
But ever since they put the spaceship inside [Soldier Field,] it hasn’t felt the same. I love” the move, he said.
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