Da Bears Easing on Down the Road?

Patrick: John, you appear to be chomping at the bit to speak on the subject of the Bears uprooting from our beautiful, lakefront Soldier Field, and heading on down the road to Arlington Heights—even though they would still be called the Chicago Bears. Go ahead. What do you got?

John: It’s not a possibility anymore; it appears to be a done deal.

Donald: I did see that the Bears signed the purchase agreement—one of multiple bids—but it’s the Bears, so we have to be frontrunners, right? I mean, it is the Bears.

Russ: No, it’s Da Bears.

Donald: Right!

John: Well, all I can say is that Mayor Lightfoot can plead all she wants about our Bears staying in Chicago, but the Bears organization has said, as the mayor, in 2020, said to Donald Trump: “Go pound some sand!”

Patrick: Ouch. All right, so let me run down a couple of facts regarding all of this. First, the move wouldn’t happen until 2026, when the Bears organization can buy its way out of its Soldier Field lease. The team reached an agreement on the purchase of Arlington International Racecourse; of course, they would build a stadium and, even look to build around the stadium to create an experience.

Russ: Yeah, I heard that was huge to the Bears: the whole creation of an entertainment zone.

John: And because the Bears are close to the end of the lease, the penalty fee is not as high as it would have been a few years back. Or, if for some weird reason this falls through, the closer to the end of the lease the Bears are if they were to look into once again relocating, the lower their penalty fee, which would give them a better opportunity to fund the area for profit…

Donald: …which would put them in the arena with teams such as the Rams and the Chargers, who play in the SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles; the Las Vegas Raiders in Allegiant Stadium; the New York Jets and the Giants, who play in New York’s MetLife Stadium; lastly, the Dallas Cowboys in AT&T Stadium. These teams have bankrolled new stadiums either completely on their own or with only a small public contribution.

Patrick: Good point. So, now, the Bears would be able to follow in the footsteps of those teams on what to build, how to build it, finance it, and how to friggin’ market it.

Russ: I read somewhere that the Los Angeles Rams—in SoFi Stadium—have sold over $600 million in seat licenses. $600 million! Now, one problem is that the Mayor is in somewhat of a lose-lose situation. Kinda…

Donald: What do you mean?

Russ: Well, the Mayor can either fight to keep the Bears at Soldier Field, which, unfortunately, would take a miracle—as John indicated—and billions of dollars in taxpayer money…or…she could go down, simply, as the mayor who lost the Bears to the suburbs.

Patrick: Well, I’ll say this: Although I have preached all my life that the Bears need to get out of Chicago in order to have real success, now that it’s possibly here, it hurts a little. I get it from the Bears’ perspective, in that they would be able to have more control over the “extras, etc.,” and would be able to build-buildbuild out there. Hotels, restaurants, bars, etc.—it’s on.

John: For me, the key to embracing this is to understand that the team name won’t change.

Donald: That’s right: Chicago Bears forever.

Vendors Russ Adams, John Hagan and Donald Morris chat about the world of sports with Executive Assistant Patrick Edwards.

Any comments or suggestions? Email pedwards@streetwise.org