“If I were advising Arlington Heights, I’d say stay away from it,” says Allen Sanderson, a sports economist and professor at the University of Chicago. “If Arlington Heights is competing against a Subway restaurant or some other mom-and-pop business, they’ll do OK. But negotiating against an NFL team, you’re likely going to lose.”
Arlington Heights should take a hardball mindset. The Bears are locked into moving — why in the world would they ever want to stay at Soldier Field and deal with the City of Chicago’s BS — so yes throw the Bears some chips here and there, but there’s no need drop massive amounts of money in their laps or cave on everything. The Bears already own the property!
JackBolly
3 years ago
Had a view of the Bears-Lions game from the PH of one of the Condo’s across from Soldier Field. Firstly, thank you to the Bears for honoring veterans- nicely done. To the point of this article though, you can tell from the fan traffic (pedestrian and auto) the current stadium is sub-optimal because it’s practically land/ water locked. There are no amenities around the stadium or nearby – NONE. Staying at the Hilton, you can see the NFL fans spend a LOT on their team experience. If you tore down the Field Museum, the current site may be better. But… Read more »
debtsor
3 years ago
This article is pure propaganda…..”Arl. Hts., it’s a really bad idea to take the Bears! Don’t do it!” Arl. Hts may give some token subsidies but ultimately the Bears need the former racetrack site more than Arl. Hts. needs the Bears. There’s just no other sites like it out there until the Bears want to move out of Cook County, and into the boonies, to find some undeveloped land. What would it take for the Bears to walk away from this purchase? Are the Bears going to walk away if Arl. Hts. won’t issue public bonds? Arl. Hts. is mostly… Read more »
Old Joe
3 years ago
I suggest that AH residents read ip.on the Pontiac Silverdome if thevwsnt to get ahead of the script.
If this bill passes, say goodbye to local control over all Illinois parks and expect to see open drug and alcohol use, needles, no sanitation and fire hazards, but no ordinary park users.
Arlington Heights should take a hardball mindset. The Bears are locked into moving — why in the world would they ever want to stay at Soldier Field and deal with the City of Chicago’s BS — so yes throw the Bears some chips here and there, but there’s no need drop massive amounts of money in their laps or cave on everything. The Bears already own the property!
Had a view of the Bears-Lions game from the PH of one of the Condo’s across from Soldier Field. Firstly, thank you to the Bears for honoring veterans- nicely done. To the point of this article though, you can tell from the fan traffic (pedestrian and auto) the current stadium is sub-optimal because it’s practically land/ water locked. There are no amenities around the stadium or nearby – NONE. Staying at the Hilton, you can see the NFL fans spend a LOT on their team experience. If you tore down the Field Museum, the current site may be better. But… Read more »
This article is pure propaganda…..”Arl. Hts., it’s a really bad idea to take the Bears! Don’t do it!” Arl. Hts may give some token subsidies but ultimately the Bears need the former racetrack site more than Arl. Hts. needs the Bears. There’s just no other sites like it out there until the Bears want to move out of Cook County, and into the boonies, to find some undeveloped land. What would it take for the Bears to walk away from this purchase? Are the Bears going to walk away if Arl. Hts. won’t issue public bonds? Arl. Hts. is mostly… Read more »
I suggest that AH residents read ip.on the Pontiac Silverdome if thevwsnt to get ahead of the script.
The McCaskys are bad but they’re not as bad as the Ford Family’s ownership of the Lions.
Spot on debtsor. I thought when old man Ford died the Lions had nowhere to go but up. Wrong again…..