Tuesday, July 26, 2022

City's Last Ditch Dome Option for Soldier Field Seems Costly and Unlikely to Keep Bears

Seems like a costly, unrealistic last ditch effort but we'll see what happens (via ESPN):

Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot revealed three proposals on Monday for renovations to Soldier Field to entice the Bears to remain at their home stadium of the past 50 years. At the center of the proposal is the construction of a domed stadium, which could cost anywhere from $900 million to $2.2 billion. Lightfoot laid out three options for construction of a dome: 

• The first would fully enclose the stadium by rebuilding both end zones with columns that can support a dome structure. 
• The second would require both end zones to be rebuilt with columns to make the stadium dome-ready. 
• The third option calls for modifications to make Soldier Field a multipurpose stadium suited to host soccer games while also making it a viable location to accommodate major concerts and a range of events.

The Chicago Tribune hit the nail on the head with this blurb in the article we read:
While she (Lightfoot) tries to determine if it’s possible to keep the team in Chicago, the mayor also needs to prepare for a post-Bears future at the lakefront so she can present a forward-looking plan to try to defray the loss of revenue and civic prestige if they Bears leave, which helps explain Monday’s news conference.

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