Mayor Lori Lightfoot announces Soldier Field renovation plans as city tries to keep Chicago Bears

CHICAGO (WLS) — Mayor Lori Lightfoot announced a few renovation selections to Soldier Subject as the city proceeds hoping to persuade the Bears to remain at the lakefront stadium.

“This is an unbelievable asset, been below for pretty much 100 years,” Lightfoot said. “1 way or a different, we have to spend in Soldier Area.”

The 3 proposals consist of a domed solution, an open up-aired stadium with the solution of incorporating a dome at a later day and an choice to modify the stadium to superior fit soccer competitions though improving upon accommodations for concerts and other events.

Lightfoot reported that all 3 proposals will continue to keep Soldier Subject as an economic motor for the town no matter of the Bears’ decision.

“Any of these renovations will enable Soldier Discipline to retain its function as an financial motor for Chicago for many years to arrive,” Lightfoot explained in a push release.

19 years back, when Soldier Field underwent its past key renovation, former Mayor Richard Daley rejected the concept of including a dome to the stadium.

Now, the renovation expenditures are approximated concerning $900 million to $2.2 billion.

“It truly is certainly extra high priced to do it this way than to have carried out it this way than component of the authentic (2003 renovation),” reported Jim Pawlikowski, Director of Rex Engineering.

Even while the cost tag is greater now than it would have been 19 decades back, Lightfoot claimed the charges of the renovations would be considerably less costly than developing a new stadium from scratch.

Some of the features which would be renovated include things like: expanding seating to 70,000 seats, an raise in luxury suites, quadrupling the food and beverage footprint and increasing the multi-purpose place obtainable.

Soldier Subject is currently the smallest capability stadium in the NFL with 61,500 seats.

The renovation programs occur as the Chicago Bears think about transferring from Soldier Discipline to the web site of the previous Arlington Racecourse.

In a statement, the Bears explained “The only possible venture the Chicago Bears are checking out for a new stadium growth is Arlington Park. As aspect of our mutual settlement with the seller of that property, we are not pursuing option stadium offers or web pages, which include renovations to Soldier Industry.”

The Bears are wanting to construct a new reducing-edge venue in Arlington Heights which could boost the team’s revenues in accordance to some sporting activities marketing and advertising gurus.

Mayor Lightfoot, nevertheless, is hoping to encourage the team to continue to be in the metropolis.

“Politically, it is really understandable what (Lightfoot’s) executing, but it is not going to make any distinction in the close,” claimed Marc Ganis, Managing Director of Sportscorp Ltd.

The mayor previously formed a committee to look at approaches to convey more men and women to the lakefront and Museum Campus.

Complete assertion from Pals of the Parks

“However we participated on the mayor’s operating team to reimagine the museum campus, Buddies of the Parks is just viewing the style and design proposals and listening to about supposedly nicely-vetted engineering specs for a prospective dome on Soldier Field. We formerly experienced allow the mayor’s business office know that we could not arrive out in aid of a dome, only in assistance of a feasibility review. Our place continues to be the very same as it did upon the launch of the “The place Worlds Meet” report: we assume that a real study of the feasibility of a dome on Soldier Area will lead to the summary that it is not possible, whether or not mainly because of value, community pushback for a variety of reasons, and/or legal limitations to building on the lakefront.”