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Commercial developers are swarming around the Bears, seeking to build a Chicago-based stadium for the club—even without any involvement or encouragement from the NFL team.
As Illinois holds a tenuous position in the ongoing Bears stadium saga, a run of developers has made formal proposals in recent weeks seeking to develop a facility within the Chicago city limits. That latest such effort arrived Thursday as the Capri Investment Group and GRIT Chicago, a consortium of local developers, announced their plan for a $10 billion mixed-use development, anchored by a Bears stadium, at the site of the former Michael Reese Hospital in downtown Chicago.
The Bears and the NFL long ago dismissed the idea of using that Reese parcel as being too narrow for a stadium, as well as being concerned about the active rail lines running through it. League commissioner Roger Goodell personally visited the locale in January as part of a broader tour of stadium site options, and similarly rejected it.
But that hasn’t stopped the developers from pressing forward on a vision to keep the Bears in Chicago.
“We have an opportunity to make a decision that will shape Chicago for generations,” said Quintin Primo III, Capri founder and executive chairman. “We want the Bears to remain in the city whose name they carry. But we also want to accomplish something much larger: a transformative investment in housing and economic opportunity in neighborhoods that have waited far too long for investment on this scale.”
The Reese option joins similar offers, also unsolicited, made in recent weeks for stadium developments at the former South Works steel mill site on Chicago’s South Side, and the current site of Rate Field, the White Sox’ home ballpark, should the MLB club leave there to build their own new facility.
Looking Ahead
The Bears haven’t commented on any of the specific development proposals, including the latest Reese one. Rather, the Bears are keeping a close eye on an Illinois legislative veto session that begins Nov. 17. Newly re-elected Gov. JB Pritzker said he intends to advance a Bears-related bill during that brief period, creating a pivotal juncture in the years-long stadium saga.
The team is particularly seeking property tax certainty and infrastructure assistance, and their focus in Illinois has been on team-owned land in suburban Arlington Heights. The recent rise in developer-related activity suggests a growing confidence that a bill in Illinois could pass, while also giving those urban parcels additional jolts of publicity.
As all this is happening in Illinois, the Bears still have their standing offer to move across the border to Hammond, Ind. State leaders in Indiana approved a funding package nearly nine months ago, and due diligence has since been done on two potential locations in Hammond.
“We expect productive dialogue with both leadership teams in the coming weeks,” the Bears said last week regarding the two states. “We have a responsibility and obligation to explore every option available to the club, and we look forward to developing a transformational project that will attract global events and deliver jobs and economic growth to all of Chicagoland.”
The Reese proposal, meanwhile, highlights the delicate nature of Illinois politics amid the Bears’ deliberations and the existing divide between upstate and downstate legislators.
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson has actively sought to keep the team in the city, and has actively lobbied for the Reese site. The Chicago-area delegation in the state legislature holds sizable sway over passage of any legislation, and has also favored an urban venue. A similar split between that Chicago group, the Bears, and the rest of the state delegation was a critical factor in sinking a stadium-related bill in the spring.
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