Chicago Bears bought Arlington Heights track only to build next to Soldier Field?

AlaCyclone

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Im from the city but I always thought people from like oak park or something were probably fine but people from like Aurora or Winnetka or something were not.
At least the "L" runs to Oak Park! :)
 

cytor

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The Bears don't need a new stadium... although I like the debates on it. What the Bears need is a new team.... they are truly unwatchable. The NFL needs to stop televising their games and the season ticket holders should be given full refunds.
 

cytor

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If you truly wanted to torture a terrorist suspect, get rid of the waterboards, and break out a tape of the Bears offense against the Browns last Sunday.
 

BryceC

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My concern is KC would be going from the greatest parking lot in sports to downtown with almost no parking, correct?

If they moved Kauffman for no dang good reason, at I'm sure a massive expense to taxpayers, it'd be a dang shame.
 

boone7247

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Near the City
Okay living about 10-15 minutes from this property let me see if I can get my pluses and minuses out.

Minus - Leaving the city of Chicago, I believe Chicago is the only city with all four major sports within the city limits.
You lose history, although one can argue the mistake by the lake took care of that.
I am sure they will lose some city fans that come to games/events, but the Bears really don't care about Soldier Field.

Positives - You go from a 7 acre site to one with over 300 acres
The stadium will be easier to get to, the Metra already has a stop at the location and I am sure an expansion of transit will happen.
Stadium will be 5 minutes from a major highway, and have plenty of parking.
The ability to approach the stadium from 360 degrees will be helpful. Getting in an out of Soldier Field is a nightmare it literally takes longer than the game, and with the limited parking, impacts the ability to tailgate.

There has been some rumbling that this is a step to making the team attractive to a buyer. Virginia is old, and if rumors are true the family won't be able to pay the estate tax when she passes, so they will be forced to sell at that point, no clue if that is just rumor or if there is truth in it. This just gives them a really attractive option to build a state of the art stadium and entertainment complex. This is the way forward for NFL franchises, hell Balmer is doing it with the Clippers.

I think it makes a ton of sense, and frankly look forward to going to a game there if this ultimately happens. I haven't been to Soldier field since 2013 and I don't have any plans to ever go back. Just way to difficult to get to. Honestly the only reason I would go to Soldier Field now is if ISU played there, which is very unlikely.
 

BryceC

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I think it makes a ton of sense, and frankly look forward to going to a game there if this ultimately happens. I haven't been to Soldier field since 2013 and I don't have any plans to ever go back. Just way to difficult to get to. Honestly the only reason I would go to Soldier Field now is if ISU played there, which is very unlikely.

I went to Chicago a few years ago and we drove by the stadium, not for a Bears game. I was honestly just thinking, what is it like getting to and from these games? It was a pain in the butt honestly to get to the UC, which is a lot smaller venue, I just couldn't fathom what it'd be like getting on a bus or something to go to a packed game and Soldier.
 

NorthCyd

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Ugh! If they move to Arlington Heights, they need to become the Arlington Heights Bears or the Illinois Bears, because they will no longer be the CHICAGO Bears.
Apparently you are unfamiliar with the concept of metropolitan areas.
 
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cytor

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The powers that be many years ago held a Geneva Convention for a reason. We are more civilized than that.

(and yes, I'm a Bears fan)
You are correct. Making them watch the Bears offense is way over the line of decency.
 

cyclonedave25

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I went to Chicago a few years ago and we drove by the stadium, not for a Bears game. I was honestly just thinking, what is it like getting to and from these games? It was a pain in the butt honestly to get to the UC, which is a lot smaller venue, I just couldn't fathom what it'd be like getting on a bus or something to go to a packed game and Soldier.
Getting to and from Soldier field is annoying. There’s 3 options, pay huge $$ for a limited amount of parking and sit in traffic, pay surge pricing for uber, ride the redline to the Roosevelt stop and walk 1 mile to the stadium.
To top it off, there’s no bars or restaurants near Soldier Field. Its a mile walk to anything for post or pre game drinks/food, unless you brought a car to tailgate.
A big, fancy stadium, entertainment district, and large parking lots will be a massive upgrade. Something like Texas Live! and Jerry World would be a big attraction.
Add in a couple express metra trains from Union Station to the stadium and it will make it easy for the downtown folks.
 

GetAwesome

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The "Chicago" Bears:
  • Founded in Decatur, IL
  • HQ'd in Lake Forest, IL (Arlington Heights is closer to downtown Chicago than Lake Forest)
  • Trained for 30 years in Rensselaer, Indiana, 1944-1974
  • Trained for 18 years in Platteville, Wisconsin, 1984-2001
  • Trained for 18 years in Bourbonnais, IL, 2002-2020
It's not like Soldier Field is even that culturally significant to the franchise outside of Ditka's short coaching tenure and the '85 Bears lore. Yes it's the only field I've known in my lifetime, but the Bears played in Wrigley Field for the first 50 years, Soldier Field for another 50. Looking ahead, Soldier Field's amenities, facilities, and capacity cannot be expanded, and currently sits as the NFL's smallest stadium with the exact same capacity as Jack Trice Stadium.

Soldier Field is a valuable asset to the city of Chicago as a whole, far more than it is to the Chicago Bears. The Bears require use of Soldier Field for about 10 of the 365 days a year.

Bring on Arlington Heights! It'll save me 45-60 minutes of drive time from Iowa.
 
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