Bears pitch $3.2B stadium plan, but
Pritzker still ‘skeptical’ despite team’s $2B pledge
Send a link to a friend
[April 25, 2024]
By DILPREET RAJU
& JERRY NOWICKI
Capitol News Illinois
news@capitolnewsillinois.com
 The Chicago Bears laid out a $3.2 billion plan for a new domed
stadium on Chicago’s lakefront on Wednesday afternoon, painting
pictures of future Super Bowls and other major public events while
pinning their hopes on yet-to-be-had conversations with the governor
and lawmakers.
The Bears – accompanied by Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson at a
Wednesday news conference – proposed a public-private partnership
through which the Bears lease the stadium from the Chicago Park
District. While the team would put up over $2 billion of the $3.2
billion needed to build the stadium, it’s also seeking $1.5 billion
in infrastructure support over several years to realize its vision
for a multi-use public park space on Chicago’s lakefront Museum
Campus.
Chicago Bears president and CEO Kevin Warren said the $2 billion
committed by the Bears would be the largest private investment in
Chicago history. He also said a new stadium can provide thousands of
temporary and long-term jobs for Chicagoans. Warren joined the Bears
in early 2023 after previously brokering a deal to bring the
Minnesota Vikings a new stadium with a public-private partnership in
Minneapolis.
“Look around Chicago, I know the mayor is doing all that he can with
his leadership to lean in to get economic development going,” Warren
said. “We want to be that catalyst.”
Despite that major commitment, Bears executives sought to fill an
estimated $900 million “gap” through state funding via a bond from
the Illinois Sports Facility Authority, a state agency created in
the 1980s to finance new sports stadiums. The team also proposed
using the city’s existing hotel tax and restructuring ISFA’s current
debt over a 40-year period.
While the proposal represents the largest private commitment of any
of the recent pushes by professional sports teams for a new stadium
yet, it was quickly met with skepticism by Gov. JB Pritzker, who was
at a concurrent news conference at Loyola University Chicago.
“I'm highly skeptical of the proposal that's been made and I believe
strongly that this is not a high priority for legislators, and
certainly not for me when I compare it to all the other things,”
Pritzker said.
The governor downplayed the competing news conferences. He’d
scheduled his in advance to highlight health insurance reforms that
recently cleared the House with his support. The Bears’ announcement
was scheduled within the past two days.
Part of the proposal includes developing about 15 acres of
recreational park space for public use and more stadium vendor
businesses owned by women and people of color. Johnson hailed the
project for upholding his “criteria for any new development
project.”
“We require real private investment, real public use and real
economic participation for the entire city,” he said.
He noted no new taxes would be imposed on Chicago residents and the
city can expect “increased tax revenue from this investment,
expanded public recreation, stronger economic growth for the entire
city of Chicago for generations to come.”
Team leaders claimed in their presentation that the stadium would
create over 40,000 construction jobs and over 4,000 permanent jobs.
The Bears’ presentation noted the organization was seeking about
$1.5 billion in three phases of infrastructure investment that could
come “at the state level, at the potentially federal level,
potentially at the city level,” according to Warren, who gave no
specifics.
Karen Murphy, the team’s executive vice president of stadium
development and chief operating officer, said that includes $325
million in transportation, roadway and utility improvements that
would be needed to open the stadium.
[to top of second column] |
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Chicago Bears Chairman George
McCaskey pose together after announcing the Bears are seeking to
build a new stadium. Johnson said he supports the plan as Gov. JB
Pritzker and others raised concern over use of public dollars.
(Capitol News Illinois photo by Dilpreet Raju)
The remaining funding – at least $1.1 billion – would come over a
period of at least five years. That could include $510 million in a
second phase of construction for things such as parking upgrades and
building surrounding parks and ballfields, followed by $665 million
for further attractions and transportation improvements in a third
phase. Bears representatives said those estimates are subject to
change.
Pritzker mentioned “higher priorities for the state” than building a
football stadium, including his $4.4 million proposed investment in
birth equity centers to create a statewide plan and distribute
building grants. And he noted Missouri voters rejected a stadium
funding plan for the reigning Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs
and for the Kansas City Royals baseball team.
“The problem is that the offer that they've made just isn't one that
I think the taxpayers are interested in getting engaged in,”
Pritzker said of the proposal, later adding, “We've seen this fail
over and over across the United States.”
House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch, D-Hillside, who attended the
governor’s news conference at Loyola, said he gave Warren a blunt
assessment when they recently met privately.
“If we were to put this issue on the board for a vote right now, it
would fail and it would fail miserably. There is no environment for
something like this today,” he said.
Senate President Don Harmon, D-Oak Park, also expressed skepticism
in a statement.
“At first glance, more than $2 billion in private funding is better
than zero and a more credible opening offer,” he said. “But there’s
an obvious, substantial gap remaining, and I echo the governor’s
skepticism.”
As for the bonding authority sought by the Bears, Pritzker noted
three pro sports teams are seeking money through the ISFA for a new
stadium – the Bears, the Chicago White Sox baseball team and the
Chicago Red Stars women’s soccer team.
“And this is one team that is offering to take all of the tax
revenue for their stadium and there apparently is nothing left over
for the other two teams,” Pritzker said.
While Pritzker had not been briefed on the proposal prior to
Wednesday’s news conference, Warren said team representatives “look
forward to having some detailed conversations with the state here in
the near future.”
“Today was the first day that we have been able to publicly roll out
our plan,” he said. “It's very difficult for someone to say they're
against this and we just presented it, so we look forward to having
more conversations with individuals in Springfield.”
When pressed by media at the Loyola event as to whether there was a
“path” for him to support a subsidy plan, Pritzker responded “sure,”
but with a caveat.
“This has got to be a lot better for taxpayers than what they put
forward. That's all I'm saying,” he added.
Capitol News Illinois is
a nonprofit, nonpartisan news service covering state government. It
is distributed to hundreds of newspapers, radio and TV stations
statewide. It is funded primarily by the Illinois Press Foundation
and the Robert R. McCormick Foundation, along with major
contributions from the Illinois Broadcasters Foundation and Southern
Illinois Editorial Association. |
