Chicago Bears New Stadium Plans Hit Wall, Arlington Heights Back In Play

The Chicago Bears pivoted away from Arlington Heights over the past year since Kevin Warren took over as the new team president. He seems intent on building a new state-of-the-art facility on the lakefront south of Soldier Field. It has gotten to the point where they even provided a comprehensive video demonstration of how they envision the property looking when it's completed. It was admittedly impressive. There is only one problem, and it's the biggest. Where do they plan on finding the money for this?

Estimates say the Bears and NFL would foot $2 billion for the project. However, to get everything done they would need $900 million in public money (probably more) to bring it home. One person who seemed against this idea from the start was Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker.

“I wonder if it’s a good deal for the taxpayers,” Pritzker said. “It’s very important to me that, with all the state needs to accomplish, that we think about what the priorities are for the state… there are a lot of priorities the state has and I’m not sure that this is among the highest priorities for taxpayers.”

It appears he has reinforced that stance since then. The Bears approached his office to discuss how to reach an agreement both sides would be happy with. According to NBC Sports Chicago, they didn't exactly get a warm reception down in Springfield.

"As the Governor has said, the current proposal is a non-starter for the state," Gough said in a statement to NBC Chicago. "In order to subsidize a brand new stadium for a privately owned sports team, the Governor would need to see a demonstrable and tangible benefit to the taxpayers of Illinois. The Governor’s office remains open to conversations with the Bears, lawmakers, and other stakeholders with the understanding that responsible fiscal stewardship of tax-payer dollars remains the foremost priority.”

The Chicago Bears face a tough fight ahead.

It sounds like Pritzker is determined to not give an inch in these discussions. He doesn't want any taxpayer money going towards a private enterprise. Too often, these organizations promise big benefits for the locals, only for that to be a complete lie. Socialize cost and privatize profit. In other words, he thinks the Bears want to wring as many dollars out of the taxpayers as possible but will simply keep all the money once the stadium and surrounding property start bringing it in. Warren and his people will have to bring forward a proposal that satisfies him and the state government.

With lines like this being drawn, it feels like the possibility of Arlington Heights has risen from the ashes. Once the Chicago Bears did their video presentation on the downtown facility, it felt as if that option was gone. If Pritzker refuses to budge in the coming weeks and months, Warren may decide pivoting back to the suburbs is in the best interests of his franchise. By the sound of things, their local government has softened demands on property taxes. Much of this comes down to how determined the Bears are to stay in Chicago.