(670 The Score) The city of Chicago is committed to keeping the Bears in their longstanding home of Soldier Field, but the team hasn't been interested in negotiating, mayor Lori Lightfoot said on the Mully & Haugh Show on Wednesday morning.
Lightfoot's comments came shortly after the Bears and Churchill Downs Inc. officially announced the organization has signed an agreement to purchase the 326-acre Arlington Park property in northwest suburban Arlington Heights. The Bears' purchase agreement is for $197 million, according to reports.
“I’m the mayor of the city, I’m a Bears fan of longstanding, I’m going to do everything I can to try to keep the Bears in Chicago,” Lightfoot said. “But just as this is a business decision for them, it’s a business decision for us.
"They actually got to come to us and tell us what they want. We have been open to a conversation. They have not."
Lightfoot said Bears chairman George McCaskey called her Tuesday night as a courtesy, informing her of the team’s decision to sign a purchase agreement on Arlington Park. The team revealed in June that it had placed a bid on the property, which has hosted horse racing since 1927. The property was up for sale by Churchill Downs Inc.
Lightfoot indicated while the Bears have taken another key step forward, it doesn't mean the team is necessarily leaving the city.
"They are buying an option, and they bought this property," she said. "The statements I saw this morning suggest that there's a lot that needs to be done to close that deal."
Upon learning of the Bears’ bid on Arlington Park in June, Lightfoot issued a statement calling it “clearly a negotiating tactic” and “noise.” On Wednesday, Lightfoot indicated she doesn't believe her strong tone in that statement was part of why the Bears haven't been willing to negotiate with her office on improvements for Soldier Field.
The Bears have called Soldier Field home since 1971 and lease the stadium from the Chicago Park District. The lease runs through 2033, and Lightfoot suggested the city will be ready to apply hefty penalties should the Bears break the deal.
The Bears’ penalty for breaking the lease would start at $84 million in 2026, the Chicago Tribune previously reported. 2026 is widely considered the first year in which a new stadium could ready for the Bears when factoring in the process of acquiring the site and then designing and building the facility.
The financial penalty for the Bears leaving Soldier Field would decrease each year from 2026 -- to $74 million in 2027, $63.8 million in 2028, $53.3 million in 2029, $42.7 million in 2030, $32.1 million in 2031, $21.6 million in 2032 and $11 million in 2033, according to the Tribune.
"They got a contract that runs to 2033," Lightfoot said. "I'm not about to let them out and certainly on a 'Thanks for the memories and goodbye.' If they want to leave, they're going to have to pay us consistent with the contract.
"We can't operate in the dark. I don't have a magic eight-ball to divine what the Bears want."
"Come to us. Tell us what you're interested in. Let's see what we can get done and if it makes sense for us and you. But I can't negotiate by myself."
Recently, news emerged that the Bears were irked by the park district’s refusal to engage in what the team considered “good faith negotiations” regarding a sports betting lounge at Soldier Field, as WBEZ reported. The team floated the idea of offering 20% of profits from the sports betting lounge to the park district. Lightfoot declined to comment on that issue.