The City of Chicago is making one final Hail Mary attempt to keep the beloved Bears in the Windy City.
Prolific stadium builder and architect Bob Dunn has released plans, including a six-minute video, detailing a $2.2 billion renovation to Soldier Field and the city of Chicago.
The proposal includes plans to transform the stadium with a dome that would help keep cold weather out of the Bears in Chicago. The plan also includes turning the isolated stadium into a year-round commercial and entertainment hub that would be served by a transit station
Dunn and his company, Landmark Development, are working with Mayor Lori Lightfoot on a plan to redesign the stadium on the Near South Side.
The condition of Soldier Field has been one of the main reasons for the potential departure of the Bears.
Bears Committed To Staying At Soldier Field Until 2032
The NFL franchise made a statement prior to the season indicating that it will “remain committed to Soldier Field and will honor the terms of its lease,” which runs through the 2032 season.
According to Dunn, the proposal to add a dome to Soldier Field will save the Bears at least $1 billion over the cost of the building. Dunn’s credentials include involvement in MetLife Stadium, along with every stadium in the Bear’s NFC North Division.
“Having built a number of NFL stadiums, having built other sports venues … having built Lambeau Field, which is consistently ranked as one of the top buildings in all of sports by fans, taking that building and then transforming it to become what it’s become, there is not an opportunity in the sports industry in the United States, I would argue, that matches the opportunity here,” Dunn told the Chicago Sun Times.
The Bears are still working with Arlington Heights officials to see what they can build on the former Arlington Park Racetrack. The Bears have a contract to buy the racetrack, which spans 326 acres, for $197.2 million but could back out of the deal.
Funding for the stadium renovation would be controversial. Taxpayers are still feeling the hit from the unpaid debt from Soldier Field’s 2003 renovation, which amounts to $631.5 million according to the Illinois Sports Facilities Authority.
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