Developers reveal proposal for new Chicago Bears stadium on city's South Side
CHICAGO (AP) — The developers of a tract of land on Chicago's South Side launched a Hail Mary they hope keeps the Bears in the city, revealing renderings on Friday for an enclosed stadium and mixed-use development on the site of the old Michael Reese Hospital.
The plan released by Chicago's Farpoint Development calls for both a $3.2 billion, 75,000-seat stadium to house the founding NFL franchise as well as $356 million in parking and infrastructure to be financed privately. It also includes a park bridge to be built over Lake Shore Drive and 5 million square feet of 'neighboring development opportunities.'
Farpoint said $600 million in public funding would be needed for 'infrastructure work that government would normally fund.'
'We believe in Chicago,' Farpoint founding principal Scott Goodman said in a statement. 'We have proposed an opportunity for the Bears to explore our site, which is viable and where a stadium can fit. And it fits on the south side of Chicago, bridging the gap to downtown.'
The Bears declined comment on Friday. They have rejected the 48.6-acre site in the past, saying it was too narrow and that commuter train tracks presented engineering challenges.
The city acquired the Michael Reese site to serve as an Olympic Village for the 2016 Summer Games, which wound up going to Rio de Janeiro.
Bears president Kevin Warren has said repeatedly the focus is on building a stadium next door to Soldier Field as part of a transformation of Chicago's lakefront museum campus. That plan unveiled last spring calls for $3.2 billion for the new stadium plus $1.5 billion in infrastructure, potentially including a publicly owned hotel. It got a full-throated endorsement from mayor Brandon Johnson but a tepid reception from Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker and state legislators.
The Bears also own a 326-acre tract of land in suburban Arlington Heights where a stadium could be built. They unveiled a nearly $5 billion plan that also called for restaurants, retail and more in September 2022, when they were finalizing the purchase of that site.
The Bears have played at Soldier Field since 1971. The team's lease runs through 2033.
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