Will the Bears Stay in Chicago? Open Development Sites Provide Potential Options


The Chicago Bears have been stymied thus far in plans to win tax breaks to build a new stadium in Arlington Heights. That’s opened the door to other communities to try and lure the team — including Naperville, Waukegan and even Rockford.

But Chicago might still be in the game. Could the city come up with a late comeback and lure the Bears to stay?

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As attractive as new renderings of Soldier Field are, stadium consultant Marc Ganis is positive the Bears and Soldier Field have no future together — other than the $640 million taxpayers still owe on the Soldier Field renovations from 20 years ago.

But what about a new stadium, somewhere else within city limits?

“If the city offered up a piece of land with procedural assistance and some kind of tax certainty, I think the Bears would definitely entertain that discussion right now,” Ganis said.

Based on pure conjecture, “Chicago Tonight” co-anchor and correspondent Paris Schutz found four spots that would give the Bears plenty of land to build their new dream home.

Among the potential sites with land large enough to house a stadium are South Works, the site of a former U.S. Steel manufacturing plant; The 78, a 62-acre lot of land; the Lincoln Yards development along the Chicago River; and land just south of Soldier Field including a massive Chicago Park District-owned parking lot and McCormick Place’s Lakeside Center, which the city has discussed tearing down for many years.

Follow Paris Schutz on Twitter: @paschutz


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