Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot received’t rule out utilizing public funds to maintain the Chicago Bears at Soldier Field because the NFL workforce continues to pursue a brand new stadium in Arlington Heights.
Lightfoot made the remark at an unrelated information convention a day after the Bears paid $197 million for the 326-acre Arlington International Racecourse web site, which they hope to rework into a contemporary stadium that may host marquee occasions together with Super Bowls and NCAA Final Fours.
“I’ve been very clear from day one we want to do everything that we can to keep the Bears in Chicago,” Lightfoot mentioned, repeating a line she ceaselessly makes use of when discussing the stadium state of affairs. “I think we can and will continue to make a very compelling business case.”
Although Lightfoot declined to supply specifics about how town would attempt to woo the Bears, she recommended the workforce may run into monetary issues because it pursues a deal in Arlington Heights. New stadiums in different cities have value $4 billion to $5 billion, and the Bears “haven’t even put a shovel into the ground yet for Arlington Heights,” she mentioned.
“I don’t know where that money is going to come from,” Lightfoot mentioned. “You’ve seen the polling that says people in the village of Arlington Heights are all excited about it but they don’t want to pay for it. We’ve seen at the state level there’s not an appetite for a state government-funded stadium, and legislation was passed in the last session that wouldn’t allow for the state subsidy for a team that moves from one location in Illinois to another location.”
The Bears are good businesspeople, Lightfoot mentioned, and “the best-case business scenario for them … is remaining at Soldier Field, working with us to modernize that stadium, to meet their needs, and to increase (revenue).”
In coping with the Bears’ potential transfer, Lightfoot faces a troublesome state of affairs that’s largely out of her management however will however draw criticism of her combative fashion. The closing of the Bears’ deal to purchase the previous Arlington International Racecourse property additionally comes at an inopportune time for the mayor, who’s within the midst of a troublesome bid for a second time period, with Election Day lower than two weeks away.
Realistically, there isn’t a lot Lightfoot can do to maintain the Bears from exiting to the suburbs. If the workforce can pull collectively the financing it wants, it’s going to depart, and that has little to do with City Hall.
But Lightfoot has however tried to make an argument that putting a dome over Soldier Field would make it a extra enticing choice for the Bears. Lightfoot has by no means mentioned how town would pay for the $2.2 billion proposal.
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Source: www.bostonherald.com