FREE POST: Bears stadium plans...What we're hearing
April 24, 2024
Good morning, Illinois. We sent the Bears story to paid subscribers late last night and wanted you to have it this morning.
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BEARS STADIUM PLAN ASKS FOR AROUND $2 BILLION FROM TAXPAYERS
The Chicago Bears will unveil a new lakefront stadium proposal Wednesday they plan to fund with more than $2 billion in private dollars and more than $2 billion in taxpayer funding.
Multiple sources tell The Illinoize the domed stadium would cost more than $3 billion to construct and another $1.5 billion in infrastructure improvements to the museum campus on the lakefront would be made.
Our sources agreed to speak about the proposal on the condition of anonymity.
The Bears are pledging $2.03 billion for the construction, mostly from the franchise, and a “small portion” from the National Football League.
The plan involves refinancing current Illinois Sports Facilities Authority debt that exists from the construction and upkeep of the White Sox home park, Guaranteed Rate Field, and hundreds of millions in debt that still exists from the 2002 renovation of Soldier Field.
The plan requires legislative approval as it would increase the amount the ISFA can bond and would extend bonding authority by as much as 50 years.
Sources say the existing 2% city hotel/motel tax would not be increased.
We’re told the Bears will be seeking legislative approval for the plan before the General Assembly is scheduled to adjourn May 24.
Neither a spokesperson for House Speaker Chris Welch or Senate President Don Harmon responded to our inquiries Tuesday night.
Harmon told an audience of business advocates in Springfield this month there was “next to no appetite” for public funding of a new stadium, though he was referring to a White Sox stadium plan at the time.
Another hurdle could be winning the support of Governor JB Pritzker, who has often claimed the state should not be paying for private stadiums.
"The Governor has always left the window open for a path to success," said one source working on the project, believing the club can win Pritzker's support.
Pritzker’s office did not immediately respond Tuesday night.
The plan would also likely have to survive a challenge from the “Friends of the Parks” advocacy group, which has challenged large scale lakefront development projects in the past.
It does not appear the project includes any funding for a new White Sox stadium in the South Loop, which has been met with little support from lawmakers thus far.
A couple of additional note I heard about this last night:
Supporters are quick to point out that it won’t be Illinois taxpayers, for the most part, paying for these bonds. They cite that the hotel tax is mostly paid for by out-of-towners. Though, especially with the pandemic, that number has fallen behind and both the state and city have been subsidizing IFSA.
The city is largely out of the financial picture of this project. There are some zoning things, obviously, but the bonds are from the state and the hotel tax won’t change. That might say something about the chaos in city government right now.
Take note that these guys are going to try to get this done in Springfield in exactly one month. It’s a huge haul, especially if Governor Pritzker isn’t on board yet. The Bears did hire a lobbyist, Lisa Duarte, who did work in the administration, so that will help their cause.
The Trib reported last night that the administration had not been briefed on the plan. They didn’t respond to us, as is their M.O.
The Governor is in New Lenox this morning and Maywood this afternoon. If any Chicago media shows up, I imagine he’ll be asked about it.
I’ve tried to get a little bit of a Republican read on this and I don’t expect, at least at this point, many GOP votes on something like this. They’ve been complaining about the Governor spending hundreds of millions on health insurance for undocumented/illegal immigrants instead of communities, so you kind of lose your message if you fork over a ton of money for a football stadium. A couple of GOP crossover names to watch would be Rep. Brad Stephens (R-Rosemont) and Sen. Seth Lewis (R-Bartlett), though I haven’t spoken to them specifically.
A vote for a Bears stadium on the lakefront is going to be a lot easier for Chicago Democrats to make than one to send them to Arlington Heights. There are something like 28 House members and 15 Senators who live in the city, so it’s a heck of a lot easier to sell a vote that keeps the Bears in town (and doesn’t raise taxes on residents.)
The Bears didn't respond to our story last night.
Lots more to come.