Bear Down and Out, Chapter 1: The Stadium | NBC Sports Chicago

Soldier Field is a landfill to put a dome on top of means we have a landfill dome to me it's a no brainer I'm surprised he hasn't done it sooner the biggest question for the Bears is how we're going to pay for this it's a billion billionaires it's almost like they're two different leagues they have a great model of what not to do and that's what was done with Soldier Field that was a deal that should never have been made we filed a freedom of information request with the mayor's office which that we received is quite enlightening, I think that's where they said we can't, they won't even talk to us, they won't even talk to us, really that's where we are, how about us? let it, it didn't have to come to this contrast that with this invitation from Arlington Heights, a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, you can't make these deals if people don't legitimately like each other, this is a massive move for the franchise and if it's not so it will not happen.

I think it's devastating for the franchise. How many times insecure did I hear? Well, that's the way we've done it and that's the way Coach Alice wanted it when the game changes around you. What are you doing to make sure that you? you keep up if you don't win you're a loser this is a story about history money and the love of the game it's a tale of two cities and they're suburbs it's a story about betting on ponies and betting on the future and it's a story you won't want to miss in Daniel Burnham's original Chicago plan, there was a

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on the lakefront that was originally intended to be a municipal gathering place over the years, Soldier Field has been used for many things that had nothing to do with football car racing demolition derbys ski jumping rodeos the world's fair to the start of the Special Olympics to um political figures who spoke there being there you know for the first time running out of the tunnel just gave me the goosebumps.

Feel blessed to have played there, honored to have played there, but to me, you know you don't stay downtown for the beautiful Skyline. Ditka played most of their games at Wrigley Field the Bears are just a tenant at Soldier Field they pay six million dollars a year to play there the lease expires at the end of the 2033 season but they can pay a multi-million dollar fine if they want to leave early but they've had a roving eye for decades, in fact when they originally signed the lease to play at Soldier Field they thought it would be temporary, they told their own ticket holders they were probably only there for four years they were never going to to be their forever loot to enter Arlington Heights in February 2021 Churchill Downs announced they intended to sell the 326-acre land that houses the now-closed Arlington Race Track in September 2021 while the Bears were celebrating their 50th anniversary of Soldier Field they had announced that they reached an agreement with Churchill Downs to buy that property for 197 million dollars I think the Bears want to control everything to be able to have concerts and conventions and final fours and Big Ten title games all of that looking at the

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s that the NFL has right now they have these huge amazing billion dollar stadiums now and Soldier Field it's not just the modern conveniences of these new stadiums compared to Old Soldier Field I mean it's really day and night Okay I think if you give a player a chance to play in a building on a surface like a legion stadium in las vegas or as far away in california they would pick that over soldier field i mean just be honest you want the best stuff .

In football life, the look of Soldier Field was fun, there were some good times, but times have changed and the Bears need to change, you need to modernize.