Sweet Dome Chicago: Lightfoot, City Announce Soldier Field Plans

CHICAGO — Chicago city officials believe the backdrop for Soldier Field is the most iconic setting in the National Football League and in all of professional sports.

Now, they’re hoping improving the current home of the Chicago Bears at a cost of between $900,000 and $2.2 billion — including adding a dome to the storied nearly century-old stadium on Chicago’s lakefront — is enough to keep the Bears from bolting for the suburbs.

Mayor Lori Lightfoot also said adding a new stadium from scratch would add $1 billion to $1. 5 billion to the price tag, an incentive she hopes will get the Bears to reconsider their apparent decision to move the team out Chicago and to Arlington Heights.

Lightfoot and members of the Museum Campus Committee on Monday unveiled images of a world class “Tier-1” stadium that she hopes entices the Bears to consider staying on the lakefront.

But if one of the NFL’s charter members chooses to leave Chicago for Arlington Heights as it has suggested it will do, the mayor said that the city is in active discussions with other “long-term” tenants that Lightfoot said could include a second NFL team to what she said is a "very sought after venue — no question about it."

But the city's priority, the mayor said, is convincing the Bears to stay put in a setting that officials and developers say is unique and that could be the industry leader in stadium design in what officials are calling a "world-class destination district."

Lightfoot said Monday that the city is considering three potential concepts for Soldier Field. The first would include placing a dome on the venue, while the second would be an open-air concept that would be dome-ready, the mayor announced. The third — if there's no longer an NFL team at Soldier Field — would turn it into a venue with soccer as the priority, but that would offer a space for other year-round entertainment and event events, officials announced on Monday.

As part of the soccer-specific plan, developers said the field would be raised 42 feet to provide optimal sight lines for fans like those who now attend Chicago FC home matches at Soldier Field. For the first two options, developers said the design would be a hybrid of Ford Field in Detroit and U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis and would increase the stadium's capacity from 61,500 to 70,000.

But developers continue to stress the uniqueness of the property.

"There is only one Soldier Field," Bob Dunn of Landmark Development said Monday.

Lightfoot said that the cost of the project would depend on the anchor tenant, but that in each case, taxpayers would need to subsidize the cost of the project.

Not only would the improvements enhance the fan experience, officials said, but would attract other major sporting events to help drive the economy of Chicago’s lakefront area and museum campus. Lightfoot called Soldier Field "a major asset" that generates hundreds of millions of dollars each year for the city and hopes that the Bears will remain part of the city's future.

But, the mayor said, she is prepared for the scenario in which the Bears move to the suburbs — a move that a team spokesman said Monday remains in the plans.

In a news conference on Monday at Soldier Field, Lightfoot said the Bears “would be foolish” to not consider the stadium upgrade. But the mayor said that the city will give the team the time and opportunity to “kick the tires” on the proposal rather than leaving for Arlington Heights, where the team has put down $197 million for a purchase agreement on the former Arlington Racecourse property.

Despite Lightfoot says there is "no possibility" the team doesn't consider the renovation proposal, a Bears team spokesman told Patch on Monday that the team’s statement issued earlier this month in response to the city’s plans for the museum campus still stands.

“The only potential project the Chicago Bears are exploring for a new stadium development is Arlington Park,” the Bears said in a statement released earlier this month when the museum campus report was released on July 7. “As part of our mutual agreement with the seller of that property, we are not pursuing alternative stadium deals or sites, including renovations to Soldier Field, while we are under contract.

The statement continues: “We have informed the City of Chicago that we intend to honor our contractual commitments as we continue our due diligence and predevelopment activities on the Arlington Heights property.”

The Bears said that they remain committed to fulfilling their Permit Operating Agreement at Soldier Field and maintain a strong working relationship with Rosa Escareno, the new Chicago Park District General Superintendent, her staff, and the ASM Global management team.”

On Monday, Escareno said that Soldier Field is not just a sports field, but a multi-purpose venue that could be used in a variety of other ways beyond hosting sporting events that draws more than one million fans and spectators each year.

"This stadium is a staple of Chicago's history," Escareno said Monday. "Soldier Field and the Chicago Bears have been part of our city's growth and evolution . ...Plain and simple, Soldier Field is the home of the Chicago Bears and of all of the fans and residents who love the game of football."

Lightfoot, however, said that Soldier Field must remain a year-round destination and said that dates are already filling up for 2023 for concerts and other events. She said that Soldier Field generates direct revenue for the Chicago Park District, which has operated the venue since 1971.

Lightfoot said a major component of the plan is to improve the fan experience, which the mayor acknowledges includes the commute to Soldier Field. Fans have long complained about the traffic snarls and hassles that accompany actually getting to the venue on Game Day. Lightfoot said that the improvements to the stadium and surrounding areas as part of the plan would address those concerns as a way of making the Soldier Field experience more enjoyable.

Now, she hopes the plan is enough to keep the Bears around or that the project entices another tenant should the Bears follow through with their suburban plans. Lightfoot said that even if the Bears choose to leave, Soldier Field will remain a premier, multi-purpose venue that can hold a variety of important and high-profile events.

The mayor hopes things don't get to that point, however.

"We are doing what we believe is a compelling case for the Chicago Bears to stay in Chicago," Lightfoot said Monday. "They want a tier-1 environment to maximize revenues and we agree and we're going to keep making the case to the Bears, the NFL and the public that revitalizing Soldier Field makes the most economic sense for that storied franchise."