The Chicago Bears are one of the most storied franchises in all of professional sports, but that team has not had a ton of success in recent years. Not only has the play on the field been below average, but Soldier Field is one of the worst in the league. Keeping up with the latest Chicago Bears news is essential for fans looking to stay informed about the team’s developments.
A little more than a year ago, the Chicago Bears announced plans to move to Arlington Heights after failing to find a compromise with the Chicago Park District. Since then, there have been a ton of other rumors out there that suggested that the Bears were exploring other options heading to the upcoming NFL schedule.
The Arlington International Racecourse would have provided a great spot for a new NFL stadium, but the team has officially shifted plans once again. The team is now planning to stay in Chicago and build a brand new stadium just to the south of the current property.
The team president and CEO Kevin Warren provided an update on the Chicago Bears news, noting that the team would be investing over $2 billion of private money to make this happen. This is a win for Bears fans in the city of Chicago as they were adamant that they didn’t want to see the team leave the city.
Plans Coming Together
According to recent Chicago Bears news, the team plans to start construction soon, although an official rendering of the new stadium has not been released. This building project will take place immediately south of Soldier Field, and some of the parking will still be used.
The Bears are planning to play in Soldier Field until the new stadium is built, but then the old stadium will be torn down. Warren indicated that the famous colonnades would not be torn down, and they would then serve as the backdrop for a new year-round park space.
Warren and the Chicago Bears have stressed the importance of building a new facility to house other events, and there will be a dome. This will allow the stadium to host major concerts and basketball games, and it will also provide a comfortable environment during the winter months.
Soldier Field has a capacity of just 61,500, which makes it the smallest current stadium in the NFL. Warren and the team will ultimately provide updates on the potential capacity of the new stadium, but it will have more seats.
Not only will the stadium be bigger, but there will also be 20% more space on the museum campus. Other major tourist attractions occupy the same parcel of land, and this new project will expand the overall space.
What Comes Next?
Since the Bears have announced that they are going to privately fund the new stadium project, it’s not likely that they will have a public comment period. That has been their stance since they even discussed a new stadium as the team did not want to use taxpayer dollars.
It looked as if the team was 100% ready to leave the city, but Arlington Heights was in a big argument over property taxes. The city of Arlington Heights was going to charge the team $100 million in property tax, and the team was unwilling to pay that number.
The team will now seek to sell the property in Arlington, potentially paving the way for the construction of another major stadium. Even though the team decided to settle in Chicago moving forward, the team did explore some additional options.
Naperville was another suburb that was pushing hard to land the Bears, and the team did take a meeting with the mayor. The Bears will continue to provide updates to this new plan, but announcing a stay in Chicago is huge offseason news.
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