The Chicago Bears have some big plans for the stadium to replace their longtime home of Soldier Field. Of course, they aren’t planning to pay for it themselves.
The team is planning to reveal plans for a $4.6 billion project to build a new enclosed stadium on the Lake Michigan lakefront area, according to the Chicago Tribune, with the team planning to pledge $2.3 billion to make it happen. That would leave Illinois taxpayers on the hook for $2.3 billion.
For perspective, that works out to $183 per Illinois resident.
The stadium itself will reportedly cost $3.2 billion to build, with another $1.4 billion in infrastructure improvements (think public transportation, parking garages, parks). Taxpayers would technically cover the infrastructure improvements and $1 billion in newly borrowed money, which would involve new bonds for the Illinois Sports Facilities Authority (ISFA).
A $4.6 billion stadium (or a $3.2 billion stadium) would be the second-most expensive stadium in sports history, behind only SoFi Stadium, the home of the Los Angeles Rams and Los Angeles Chargers. That project was funded entirely by Rams owner Stan Kroenke.
These plans come after the Bears already spent $197 million to buy the Arlington International Racecourse property in Arlington Heights, Ill. They are now apparently set to abandon those plans, with the team reportedly unable to reach an agreement over property taxes with local schools in Arlington Heights.
The Bears’ lease at Soldier Field, which is nearing its 100th birthday, runs through 2033.
The Chicago White Sox would also like $2 billion
The Bears are pursuing their public funding in parallel to the Chicago White Sox, which have already unveiled plans for a stadium just outside Chicago’s South Loop area.
The price tag was initially reported as $1 billion, but a subsequent interview by team owner Jerry Reinsdorf revealed the price tag would be more around $2 billion. He heavily hinted that Illinois declining to cover the money would endanger the team’s future in Chicago.
It remains to be seen if the Bears will employ similar scare tactics, and if anyone would believe them. The teams have recently discussed a financial partnership.
Wait until you hear how much Illinois still owes for the last Bears and White Sox stadium projects
The Bears and White Sox already had some financial ties, as they both received their most recent major rounds of funding for stadiums via the ISFA.
A 2% hotel tax has been used to pay bonds that covered renovations for Soldier Field and Guaranteed Rate Field, but the debts have outpaced that income. Per the Tribune, taxpayers still owe $629 million on renovations for stadiums that both teams are now trying to abandon while asking Illinois to pay billions to help them to do so.
Some of the proposed borrowing would reportedly be used to roll over that debt, with a plan to pay it off over the course of 40 years.
One sports economist the Tribune spoke to, J.C. Bradbury, was skeptical of the plan, to say the least:
“Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me,” Bradbury said. “The Bears aren’t going to leave one of the most iconic football markets in the country. Tell the Bears to pay for their own damn stadium, and if they don’t like it, to go jump in Lake Michigan.”
We’ll see if Illinois legislators have a similar reaction.
