Chicago mayor hopes latest Soldier Field proposals keep Bears

Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot yesterday offered to "put a dome on Soldier Field," at a potential cost of $2.2B, in a "desperate attempt to keep the Bears in Chicago or save face if they leave for Arlington Heights,” according to a front-page piece Spielman & Roeder of CHICAGO SUN-TIMES. A portion of the cost “would be paid for by selling naming rights ‘in a way that respects Soldier Field’s legacy as a war memorial by keeping Soldier in the name of the facility.’” There also are “sponsorship opportunities in other areas inside the stadium.” If the Bears opt to stay, hundreds of millions of dollars in NFL "league financing" also "could be made available.” But key details about how the rest of the money would be raised “were not revealed and must await a soon-to-be-launched feasibility study.” Lightfoot “refused to say how she planned to bankroll a domed and expanded Soldier Field," and “didn’t rule out building the dome without the Bears." Adding the dome to Solider Field is “one of the three options for improving the stadium." The other two options are “preparing the lakefront stadium to receive a dome without actually building it," or "allowing the Bears to leave and proceeding with a more modest stadium renovation" for the Fire, college football games, concerts and other potential uses. Ever since the Bears signed the agreement to purchase the old racetrack site, Lightfoot has "sounded almost resigned to losing the team.” However, with or without the Bears, she has said that she "wants to improve Soldier Field and maximize year-round revenues”

In addition to a dome, Lightfoot'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 multipurpose venues,” four of them with capacities ranging from 5,000 to 60,000 people.

• Quadrupling square footage devoted to food and beverage space -- to 200,000 square feet.

• Dramatically expanding the opportunity for major sponsorships and naming rights (CHICAGO SUN-TIMES, 7/26). 

NO INTEREST: In Chicago, Gregory Pratt in a front-page piece notes Lightfoot’s presentation “left as many questions as it provided answers.” Pratt: "Could a dome be enough to convince the Bears to stay in a stadium they don’t own or control? Who would pay for the construction?" The Bears “showed no interest in the city’s announcement,” and "rereleased a statement they initially put out earlier this month." Lightfoot’s initial response to the team's interest in building a stadium in Arlington Heights was to "call it 'noise' and urge the Bears to focus on 'being relevant past October.'" Since then, Lightfoot has “floated the possibility of building a costly dome over Soldier Field and appointed a task force to examine the Museum Campus that’s home to the stadium” (CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 7/26).

THE RIGHT GUY: The SUN-TIMES's Spielman & Roeder in a separate piece wrote Landmark Development President Bob Dunn is "possibly the most valuable player" on Lightfoot's team for improving Soldier Field. He is a real-estate developer "uniquely suited for the job." Dunn also has "massive experience with building NFL stadiums," as he has been part of the group behind new homes for every Bears rival in the NFC North, as well as MetLife Stadium. His company produced the "renderings Lightfoot relied on to show the possibilities" for Soldier Field. Dunn called the technique that would be used for a potential Soldier Field dome a "hybrid of designs employed" for Ford Field and U.S. Bank Stadium (CHICAGO SUN-TIMES, 7/26).

ON TO THE NEXT: The ATHLETIC's Kevin Fishbain writes the "train has left the station and is heading to Arlington Heights." The Bears would "own that property and be able to do whatever they wanted with it, starting with building a brand new stadium from scratch." The city of Chicago "can't offer that." Fishbain: "Decades of decisions before the current mayor led to this moment, and I don't see anything preventing the Bears from leaving Soldier Field" (THEATHLETIC.com, 7/25).