The Chicago Bears stadium saga might be boring to the outside world, but it’s been a whirlwind for fans to follow. It started with the purchase of Arlington Park in Arlington Heights for $197 million. Expectations were they’d use that 326-acre property to build a state-of-the-art complex. However, local school districts muddied the process by trying to get the Bears to pay high property taxes. Team preside Kevin Warren used that as reasoning to explore other options, eventually landing on an agreement with Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson on a new lakefront stadium south of Soldier Fields.
Unfortunately, the plans have hit a wall. Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker made it clear from the outset that the Bears can expect zero public money to help fund such a venture. The state government is focused more on food and housing issues, which continue to create issues both in the state and around the country. While Warren stated publicly that he isn’t discouraged by this lack of progress, recent rumors suggest otherwise. Mark Carman of CHGO reported that the Bears had re-entered talks with Arlington Heights about the property tax issue. Mayor Tom Hayes confirmed this to the Daily Herald last week.
“We’ve worked very hard to come to an agreement with the school districts that I think the Bears can be comfortable with, and that’s been communicated to the Bears, and that’s what we’re discussing now,” Mayor Tom Hayes told the Daily Herald. “So I feel very comfortable that should the Bears reengage with us and continue to explore the Arlington Park site, that the road is going to be much easier than we found in past months.”…
…When asked if the Bears responded positively to the settlement, Hayes replied, “They have responded, and discussions continue.”
Last week, the three-term mayor announced he wouldn’t seek reelection, but he expects the Bears to decide whether or not to build a stadium in town before his term expires in 10 months.
“I feel really good that we’ve presented a proposal to the Bears that they can feel comfortable with, and we’ve communicated that to them, and they have responded, and discussions are continuing,” Hayes said. “I feel very hopeful about where things are at. And I’ve always said that, ultimately, I think the Bears will find that Arlington Heights is the best site for them.”
If Warren weren’t in a rush, he would likely keep pursuing a downtown stadium until he finally found common ground with the state. However, he indicated he’d like to get shovels in the ground by next year. Based on how the government has acted in the past few months, that seems almost impossible. So either he must find a new strategy that brings them to the negotiating table, or he must work things out with Arlington Heights. Based on reports, the latter is the far likelier option as things stand.
It makes sense. One thing to remember is that the Chicago Bears already own the necessary property. That isn’t the case with the downtown stadium. The city owns that, and it isn’t likely to sell such land to a private enterprise. Shifting back to Arlington Heights would require less jumping through hopes and probably less public money to build out the property. Everything depends on how willing Warren is to fight the uphill battle he faces for that lakefront stadium. Indications are he’s waning on the idea.
