Posted on 05/07/2023 4:02:10 PM PDT by 11th_VA
The Chicago Bears first started playing at Soldier Field in 1971, but the iconic stadium’s days could be numbered as recent news has accelerated the possibility of a new stadium being built in the near future.
According to a report from the Chicago Sun-Times, the Bears’ franchise has submitted paperwork with the Village of Arlington Heights to begin the demolition of the Arlington International Racecourse. The 326-acre property has been described as a crown jewel of the area’s horse racing community.
The Bears, who just finished an eventful NFL Draft, stressed that the request does not guarantee they will demolish and build on the site. The team is seeking property tax certainty and for someone else to pay for infrastructure that surrounds it. The plan is for the area to include hotels, restaurants and shops.
The team also added that they will not seek taxpayer money to fund the stadium.
The race track first opened in 1927 and closed in September 2021. Shortly after the closure, the team announced it had agreed to purchase it for $197.2 million. The Bears closed on the property in February, just weeks after the hiring of its new president/CEO Kevin Warren.
Warren is the former commissioner of the Big Ten, with plans to shake things up in the Windy City...
(Excerpt) Read more at clutchpoints.com ...
If they’re smart, they’ll leave Illinois. Move just across the line to Wisconsin or Indiana. Put the team midway between Chicago and Milwaukee and watch the Packers explode. That would be fun. Indiana would be closer, there’s nothing in Gary or East Chicago that can’t be torn down, and the tax climate would be vastly better.
Would it really make a difference? I’ve flown through O’Hare enough times to know all about arriving in the Wisconsin terminal with 15 minutes to get to the Indiana terminal, so it’s all the same to me.
The Cook County tax Assessor wants them to stay in
Chicago.
“The Cook County Assessor has increased the cost potentially of a Bears’ tax bill dramatically by reassessing the property way above what it was,” said Greg Hinz, of Crain’s Chicago Business, who first reported the news. He said the move could raise the bill from $2.75 million to an estimated $16.5 million.
Dumping 500 lbs of pasta would be a good start.
Can Do!
Upon further review....Da Bears Still Suck!
Omaha Nebraska.
What could be the problem with downtown Chicago? Hmmmmmm.
Milwaukee used to have a great used bookstore at the airport.
Hammond IND, 29 miles away.
I like Omaha. But why would Omaha want the Bears?
Where can I get a deal like that?
Ever been in Nebraska when the Corn Huskers are playing?
They fill a stadium up every weekend.
That state rolls up the sidewalks during a football game.
Cant get anything done during that time.
I would almost guarantee they’d welcome a professional football team that played mostly on days off the college schedule.
Green Bay and Buffalo can do it, so can Omaha.
They should move to Toronto or better Mexico City
Whatever hurts Chicago/Illinois I’m okay with.😀
The Gary Bears. I like it. :)
Omaha huge baseball town. Sox and Cubs should go there. I’d like to see Bears adjacent to Field of Dreams in Iowa. They’d get a million fans every week. HUGE football state!
“They fill a stadium up every weekend.”
Ditto Iowa City!
If they lose a football team, then the last best hope for something positive for Teenz in the city will be lost
“I like Omaha. But why would Omaha want the Bears?”
450 miles away from Shitcago?
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