(670 The Score) The Bears don’t plan to have a retractable roof on their potential new stadium in Arlington Heights, president Ted Phillips said at a community meeting Thursday evening at Hersey High School.
The Bears’ full focus is on building a state-of-the-art stadium and entertainment district on the 326-acre Arlington Park property that they’ve agreed to purchase for $197 million, pending the finalization of details. But unlike a few new stadiums built across the NFL in recent years, a retractable roof isn’t part of the vision.
“The costs are prohibitive,” Phillips said, according to the Athletic. “The return isn’t there.”
In releasing renderings for the Arlington Park development and an open letter Tuesday, the Bears had announced the stadium would be “enclosed,” leading to wonder about whether it would be a fixed or retractable roof. The Dallas Cowboys, Arizona Cardinals, Indianapolis Colts, Houston Texans and Atlanta Falcons are the NFL teams that play in stadiums with a retractable roof.
Phillips pointed to the Vikings’ home of U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis in sharing the Bears’ vision, explaining that its design makes fans feel like they’re outside even though it’s enclosed, the Athletic reported.
The Bears didn’t release details or renderings of a stadium design Thursday, instead focusing on the entertainment district and sharing their desire to work with Arlington Heights residents to be good neighbors. They also didn’t reveal how much a state-of-the-art stadium could cost, but Phillips did estimate the entire Arlington Park project would cost around $5 billion.
The Bears don’t plan to seek any public funding for the construction of a stadium, but they are asking for taxpayer money in conjunction with other parts of the Arlington Park complex proposal, saying they need it for infrastructure such as roads and sewers, the Associated Press reported. The Bears have indicated the project can’t move forward unless they get public funding to some extent.
“My family and I are not real estate developers,” McCaskey said, according to the Associated Press. “We are not financiers. We are privileged to own a beloved football team that is an important community asset. We take that responsibility to heart. It is our life’s passion. We do recognize what might be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”
As the Bears move forward with their Arlington Park project, they aren’t considering renovations to Soldier Field, Phillips said at the meeting. The city of Chicago has unveiled several proposals to improve Soldier Field, where the Bears have played since 1971. The Bears lease Soldier Field – which has the NFL’s smallest capacity – from the Chicago Park District.
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