Lori Lightfoot Has Unveiled Her Last Ditch $2.2B Plan To Revamp Soldier Field And Keep The Bears In Chicago And I'll Admit It Looks Cool
In addition to a dome, the mayor’s plan for Soldier Field also includes:
• Increasing the NFL’s lowest seating capacity from 61,500 seats to 70,000 seats.
• Raising the number of “traditional” suites from 133 to 140.
• Adding six new “major clubs and experiential areas.”
• Creating “more flexible events space and multi-purpose venues,” four of them with capacities ranging from 5,000 to 60,000.
• Quadrupling square footage devoted to food and beverage space—to 200,000 sq.ft.
• Dramatically expanding the opportunity for major sponsorships and naming rights.
Lori Lightfoot is officially that toxic girlfriend that promises you the moon after you break up in an attempt to get you back, but you've already moved on. I will admit that the renderings of the new Soldier Field look awesome. But...l am a sucker for stadium renderings. They at least hired the guy who designed the Vikings stadium and the Packers remodel of Lambeau Field to propose something decent-looking. Feels like too little to late. The Bears have a new chick and she treats them right. Lori, likely wouldn't be able to deliver on these drawings anyways because, I mean, has she ever been able to deliver anything? The Bears aren't flinching though. In response to this plan and press conference the Bears released this statement
"As part of our mutual agreement with the seller of that property, we are not pursuing alternative stadium deals or sites, including renovations to Soldier Field, while we are under contract. We have informed the City of Chicago that we intend to honor our contractual commitments as we continue our due diligence and pre-development activities on the Arlington Heights property. In the meantime, we remain committed to fulfilling our Permit Operating Agreement (POA) at Soldier Field."
Translation: "we moved on, bitch." and then the Bears blocked Lori's number.
In addition to those highlights I listed out above, it is expected that the Bears would also look to close Burnham harbor and add additional floating parking spaces. No mention, that I could find, about traffic in and out of the stadium or traffic in and out of the bathrooms. You're still probably missing a quarter of the game to take a piss and a quarter of your life getting out of the parking lot.
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I don't see any scenario where the City of Chicago could propose a stadium deal that would make sense for the Bears. The Bears want to own their own stadium. They want the revenue of the naming rights, they want the revenue of the concerts, Final Fours, and all the other dollars that they can generate from the 326 acres at the Arlington site. The City screwed up the remodel of Soldier Field last time and Lori Lightfoot's rhetoric has been downright adversarial. Even if the City had been a good and honest partner, it's hard to envision a scenario where the Bears stay.
It'll be sad to see the backdrop of the city change and I'll miss the wind blowing in off the Lake, but in reality those are the only things I will miss. Soldier Field is a bad venue for the NFL and always has been. The Bears are hardly a model franchise, but that stadium is a detriment to the business. I am hoping a new stadium might allow the Bears to take their seat at the table with the other flagship franchises in the NFL.