The Chicago Bears have spent the past few years trying to situate themselves to build a new stadium. While they officially own the large property in Arlington Heights, team president Kevin Warren has wanted to work out a deal to keep the team downtown. It would involve building on the large museum campus south of Soldier Field. However, J.B. Pritzker and his government have remained steadfast in their unwillingness to provide any public funding. Without it, the odds of the Bears getting that downtown project done are almost impossible.
That means one of two things. Either they pivot to Arlington Heights, or they find a different way to get the money they need. The latter seems unlikely. However, insider Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk believes one possibility exists that hasn't been discussed enough. He believes there is a chance, albeit a small one, that the Bears could bring a second team into the equation. That would allow sharing the financial burdens, making a new stadium far easier to build and pay for.
He even has a team in mind.
The market currently supports two teams in the sport that used to be America’s pastime. And with the Bears getting nowhere when it comes to finagling taxpayer funding for a new stadium, the solution could come from having a second team play there.
Instantly, the inventory of games would double, from 10 to 20. It would become much easier for the Bears (and possibly the other team, unless it’s just a tenant) to pay for the building with minimal public assistance.
Enter the Bengals. They’re less than three months away from the final countdown to the expiration of their lease at Paycor Stadium. During the league meetings this week, executive V.P. Katie Blackburn said the quiet thing out loud — after 2025, the Bengals can go wherever they want to go.
It’s easy to come up with a list of cities that currently have no NFL teams. But the best outcome for the Bengals, and the Bears, could be to partner up in a new Chicagoland stadium. Lakefront or Arlington Heights. Wherever. The revenue from 20 NFL games each year, along with everything else that could be hosted in a fixed-roof building, should be able to pay for the building.
The Chicago Bears seem unlikely to share the market.
Believe it or not, the city actually had two teams once upon a time. From 1920 to 1959, the Bears shared downtown with the Chicago Cardinals. However, after winning a championship in 1947, the Cardinals took a significant downturn in success. That hurt attendance and, along with some other factors, compelled the organization to leave for a new city. They went to St. Louis first before eventually landing in Arizona. This idea that Chicago can't handle two teams is not accurate. It did for almost 40 years at one point.
It still won't happen. For one, the Chicago Bears aren't in such dire straits that they need emergency help to build a stadium. They have zero reason to share their market with another team just because of that. Meanwhile, the Bengals have no need to do it either since no shortage of cities around the country would likely love to bring them in.
- St. Louis
- San Antonio
- San Diego
- San Jose
- Columbus
- Oklahoma City
Truth be told, it feels unlikely they will move. The Bengals have been in Cincinnati since 1967. They have a large, stable fanbase. It is hard to imagine the NFL would allow them to uproot after 57 years. Either way, it won't be to Chicago, even if they do.
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