A Chicago architectural firm recently released renderings of a plan that would put the National Football League (NFL) team Chicago Bears in a new domed stadium at the Rate Field site (a Major League Baseball stadium located on the South Side of Chicago, Illinois, US) – and potentially help bolster a plan for the Major League Baseball (MLB) team Chicago White Sox to move to the South Loop a vibrant, fast-growing neighborhood in Chicago, Illinois, located immediately South of the city’s central business district.
Eleventh-hour Plan
However, the Eleventh Ward Alderwoman Nicole Lee said she is intrigued by the possibility of the Chicago Bears replacing the Chicago White Sox at the site that now includes the Rate Field even though there are far more questions than answers about the eleventh-hour plan. Lee and the Cook County Commissioner John Daley have been embroiled in the battle with Amtrak and Ishbia to prevent the Chicago White Sox from leaving the Rate Field for the South Loop. That plan also entails the construction of the Amtrak (the national passenger railroad company of the United States) maintenance site.
New Home
‘CHICAGO SUN TIMES’ stated that Skidmore, Owings and Merrill (a global practice of architects, designers, engineers, and planners) posted the renderings to their Instagram page saying the plan would create a new home for the Chicago Bears with a mixed-use district that would bring together housing, entertainment, hospitality, parks, and public recreation. The firm noted the transportation infrastructure already is in place at the site in Armour Square, adjacent to the Bridgeport neighborhood in Chicago.
The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago (US). The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) North Division. The 62,500-seat Soldier Field serves as their home pitch.
Plan Renderings
‘CHICAGO SUN TIMES’ further stated that the renderings of the plan being distributed to the stakeholders say the stadium and campus are “presented by Sterling Bay”. But the Sterling Bay (a prominent Chicago-based real estate development) and investment firm head honcho Andy Gloor in a text message stated that the plan is a Skidmore “work product” and said Sterling Bay is “not driving this deal although we love the idea of keeping the Bears in Chicago”.
‘Viable Solution’
Even so, a spokesperson from Sterling Bay called the plan “a real viable solution to keeping the Bears in Chicago”.
Market-rate
The architectural firm said, “We have also identified a large amount of publicly-owned land surrounding the site that could transform the stadium into a district with more affordable and market-rate housing, civic amenities and new and improved pedestrian bridges to bring lasting vitality to the surrounding neighborhoods.”
Property Taxes
But a Bears stadium at the site, which is owned by the Illinois Sports Facilities Authority, could mean the team could avoid paying property taxes, a major selling point. There’s also the built-in infrastructure with the potential for federal transportation funds as well.
Mixed-use Development
All of the chatter comes as the Canal Edge LLC (an American real estate development and project delivery company) – a company owned by the Chicago White Sox Minority Owner Justin Ishbia – released plans in September for a mixed-use development called the Railyards which would move the Chicago White Sox to the South Loop.
Moving Amtrak Facility
But putting the stadium at that riverfront location requires moving an Amtrak maintenance yard and the move came hand-in-hand with Ishbia’s companies helping to finance moving the Amtrak facility to Bridgeport.
Community Resistance
That plan has met some major community resistance because Amtrak initially had received more than $600 million and a “categorical exclusion” from the federal Government for the project which allowed it to move forward without a full environmental assessment or an environmental impact statement “unless there are extraordinary circumstances”.
‘Chicago Home of Bears’
The Mayor of Chicago Brandon Johnson’s office recently offered few details stating that “the Mayor knows that Chicago is and should remain the home of the Bears and will continue to work with the stakeholders across the region to do so”.
Dazzling Stadium Renderings
It’s not the first time a Chicago developer and its handpicked stadium architect have showcased dazzling stadium renderings. “Pretty pictures” have accompanied plans to build a Bears stadium at the site that once housed the Michael Reese Hospital, as well as the plan once championed by the Sox Chairman Jerry Reinsdorf to build a new Sox stadium at the South Loop parcel known as ‘The 78’, across the river from the latest proposed Sox stadium. ‘The 78’ also is where the Chicago Fire’s billionaire owner, Joe Mansueto, is financing his own $750 million soccer stadium with help from $425 million in taxpayer-funded infrastructure improvements.
Both of those earlier stadium plans have, so far, gone nowhere.
Hail Mary Pass
Asked whether she believes the plan to build a Bears stadium near Bridgeport is real, or more like a Hail Mary pass (desperate effort to win), Lee answered, “I don’t know. I have not had any conversations with the Bears at all about a potential move to our area.”
Political Debate
Lee said she has long found it strange that the Bears stadium search has dominated the public conversation and political debate even though the team’s lease at the Soldier Field does not expire until 2033.
‘Little Frustrating’
She added, “The fact that the Sox lease is coming due sooner was a little frustrating. I’m happy that there’s at least some other conversations going on about what the future of all of these teams is.”
‘Far away from Reality’
If the Skidmore plan ever does take off, Lee said, “They’re gonna be building a whole complex and there are some things that would need to come down” and be demolished. She refused to reveal specifics. “That is why this is so far away from being real,” she said.
Driving Bears Talks
The Governor of Illinois JB Pritzker has been driving the Bears talks as of late, meeting again in September with the NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, whose repeated visits to Illinois might suggest the league’s not thrilled at the prospect of the Bears breaking ground on a dome in Hammond, Indiana.
Luring the Bears
The Indiana lawmakers already have approved a stadium package to lure the Bears even as the Bears hoped the Illinois General Assembly would provide some help for the team to build a stadium at the former site of the 35,000-capacity Arlington International Racecourse in Illinois.
PILOT
Pritzker has supported the broader concept of allowing the Bears to negotiate a discounted payment in lieu of the taxes, known as PILOT, with the local Governments. The Illinois House passed such a Bill this spring thus earning critical support from the Chicago Democrats because it would’ve shared proceeds with the homeowners as property tax rebates – but those returns were deemed “negligible”.
Stadium Authority Model
In the Illinois General Assembly, sources familiar with the negotiations say the conversation has shifted toward the stadium authority model. That would mean no tax bill for the Chicago Bears – and it would keep the door open to Chicago thus providing vital cover for the city legislators loath to pave the team’s path to Arlington Heights (a large, populous village in Cook County, Illinois).
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