The Chicago Bears know what they want for a new stadium. Team president Kevin Warren has made that clear for months. It centers on the downtown museum campus south of Soldier Field along the lakefront. They’ve put together a presentation and everything. However, the state government has offered little wiggle room for negotiations. They’ve made it clear that what the Bears want, which likely includes $1 billion in public funding, is a non-starter. Governor J.B. Pritzker has insisted his government has more pressing issues to worry about.
Part of that might be true, but it was never likely the whole story. Danny Ecker of Chicago Business finally revealed a new wrinkle that explains a lot. According to what he’s gathered, one reason the state is dragging its feet is the uncertainty surrounding Bears ownership. It stems from the McCaskeys giving so many shares to family members rather than just a concentrated group. That has led to reservations about whether they can finance the project as planned. Virginia McCaskey’s recent death probably won’t help matters.
The team’s proposal unveiled in April for a new $3.2 billion stadium just south of Soldier Field calls for $2 billion of that to come from the Bears. While the team hasn’t specified the sources of that funding — large portions could come from things like personal seat license and naming rights revenue, for example — splintered ownership stakes could factor into their ability to finance the project. Nuances of ownership would matter to state lawmakers if they were to sign off on a large public subsidy to help, as taxpayers will need to know with whom they are doing business.
The Chicago Bears have lots of convincing to do.
George Halas himself had nightmares dealing with Illinois politicians trying to get his own stadium built. There were never any questions about his ownership. The McCaskeys have dealt with nothing but questions for 40 years. Now, their primary shareholder is gone, and nobody knows the succession plan. There is no way the state will throw that much money into a stadium project without a clear understanding of how stable the situation at Halas Hall is. This creates issues for Warren, who has repeatedly stated that he hopes to start laying the foundation in 2025. Unless some progress is made in the next few months, the Chicago Bears will either have to push back the timeline or pivot to Arlington Heights. Neither seems appetizing to them at this stage.
There is no place in South Chicago that will ever make money. So really the only move is to Arlington Heights, the property is bought, Warrens only reason of being hired was to build a stadium, he promised shovels in the ground in 2025, was this just another round of blowing smoke up Bears fans asses. With the recent article I read about any team expecting to get money from the Illinois government the team has to have a winning record for 3 years. Sound good, hopefully that starts with the Bears this year.
lets hear from that DA Dr Mel, and see what he knows
Let’s also not kid ourselves – the Bears have not really been relevant, aside from one season – since 2006. They are one of the losingest franchises in the NFL, and none of the past three GMs of the franchise – Emery, Pace and Poles – has done anything to make people confident that will change soon. Winning franchises generate excitement, prestige, expanding fanbases and cashflow, not just for themselves, but for the community. Losing ones, not so much. So, if you are asking the state for $1B – likely more – in public largesse, you probably want to come… Read more »
All of this makes both legal and bureaucratic sense. Yet. my sources over the last 15-years suggest that certain politicians represent special interests that desire the Bears to be sold to one of their own. And once they acquire the Bears, they are never going to give it up outside of their group. Let’s see if Trump, Musk, Bezos, or Zuckerberg et.al. get involved here in the next year or so regardless of how the Bears do on the field.
Washington sold for $6.05B. The Bears are worth $6.3B (not sure if that counts the Arlington Heights property). I assume they would sell for more than that. With all the kids having some stake in it, I don’t see anything changing anytime soon.