Bears’ Move To Arlington Heights Can’t Come Soon Enough

For all you NFL purists, you better enjoy the Chicago Bears playing on the shores of Lake Michigan in Soldier Field for the meantime because it’s about to come to an end.

On April 28 North Judson’s very own David Haugh, a longtime Bears’ columnist who is now with WSCR The Score in Chicago, said on MAX 98.3 FM WYMR’s Sports Talk on the MAX, “it’s a matter of when, not if,” when asked about the probability of the Bears moving to Arlington Heights.

A couple of months ago, the Bears closed on their $197 million purchase of a 326-acre site in Arlington Heights.

Within the last week, the Bears requested a permit to demolish the former Arlington race track buildings, which would move the NFL team a step closer to building a new stadium on the site.

Prior to closing on the land in the Chicago suburb, the Bears had announced their plans of building a $2 billion enclosed stadium on the site of Arlington International Racecourse. The stadium would be in the center of a $5 billion retail and residential development.

The Bears’ lease with Soldier Field runs through 2033, but they can exit that agreement in 2026 by paying the city of Chicago upwards of $90 million.

The McCaskey family owns the Bears, but has never owned their stadium.

The new state-of-the-art facility would have the ability to host the Super Bowl and the NCAA Final Four.

The new stadium is expected to have a permanent roof instead of a retractable one.

The Bears plan to pay for the stadium along with help from the NFL. They are expected to ask taxpayers to foot the bill for infrastructure like new roads, utilities and increased access for an existing train stop.

In a released statement, the Bears said, “Finalizing the purchase does not guarantee the land will be developed, but it is an important next step in our ongoing evaluation of the opportunity. There is still a tremendous amount of due diligence work to be done to determine if (this) is feasible.”

The city of Chicago has pitched multiple facets as part of a grand plan to renovate Soldier Field in hopes of keeping the popular team in the city limits. However, all indications are the Bears are at a point of no return and want a larger stadium with easier accessibility and one that is much more fan friendly.

Soldier Field is owned by the Chicago Park District, and the Bears have called it home since moving from Wrigley Field in 1971.

The Bears have played at Soldier Field for nearly half a century. They took a couple-year hiatus when Soldier Field underwent a $690 million redesign in 2001 when they played their home games at the University of Illinois’ Memorial Stadium.

To be honest the massive redesign project was a disaster.

The stadium actually lost 5,000 seats and now seats only 61,500, making it the smallest venue in the NFL.

Plus, parking is a mess as is the outer concourse area.

The playing field is a disgrace. The Bears have long fought with the Park District pleading to replace the natural grass surface with synthetic turf. That request has fallen on deaf ears and come November and December Soldier Field’s field looks like Comiskey Park’s playing surface did after Disco Demolition Night in 1979.

Soldier Field is a historic landmark, but the U.S. government thought the stadium had been changed so much during the renovation project in the early 2000s that it took it off the National Register of Historic Places.

It resembles a giant spaceship rather than the once classic Romanesque structure it did back in the day.

The Bears need to punt on Soldier Field as soon as possible, a move that has long been overdue.

Don’t shed any tears Bear faithful because you will love the Monsters of the Midway’s new first-class digs.

Bear Down Arlington Heights, so long Sweet Home Chicago!

Special thanks to Woodlawn Hospital in Rochester for being one of MAX 98.3 FM WYMR’S loyal sponsors. Please give their website a visit by going to https://woodlawnhospital.com/

You can follow me on my personal Twitter page – @DougGriffMAX983 – as well as keep an eye on my posts on sportstothemax.net’s Facebook page – plus keep tabs on all the area happenings on Twitter @Maxsports983, on Facebook (facebook.com/wymrradio) and MAX’s website – MAX983.net!