Bears submit bid for land in Arlington Heights as potential new stadium site

The Bears have played at Soldier Field since 1971. | Robert A. Davis,

The team’s bid signals it’s legitimately considering leaving Soldier Field.

The possibility of the Bears leaving Soldier Field for a new stadium in Arlington Heights became significantly more realistic once the team put in a bid to buy the Arlington International Racecourse property.

The potential relocation had been little more than rumor and logical speculation until the team announced its bid Thursday. While the Bears said it was “to explore all options” and “further evaluate the property,” they wouldn’t have bid if they weren’t legitimately considering a move.

The Bears have played at Soldier Field since 1971 and have a lease running through 2033. The organization doesn’t consider that lease to be a barrier, a source said, because it could negotiate a buyout and construction on a new facility would take years anyway.

Recently built NFL stadiums have been extravagant in design and enormous in price. The newly opened stadiums in Los Angeles and Las Vegas cost $5-6 billion and $1.9 billion, respectively. The others in the last seven years are the Falcons ($1.6 billion), Vikings ($1.1 billion) and 49ers ($1.3 billion).

from Chicago Sun-Times - All https://ift.tt/3gxEz7R