(WBBM NEWSRADIO) — Arlington Heights officials continue to emphasize that they won’t make decision about a possible Bears stadium and related development at the Arlington Park site without the input of residents.
There’s a long way to go with the project, though the village is off to a great start, Arlington Heights Mayor Tom Hayes said.
“This is a complex project," he said this week. "This is something, as I indicated, a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, something that none of us have ever been involved in before and so we want to make sure that we do it right, that we don’t screw it up."
Arlington Heights is reaching out to other cities that have built new stadiums or sports and entertainment districts to determine what works and what doesn’t, in an effort to avoid any pitfalls, village manager Randy Recklaus said.
Recklaus' team has already met with officials from Englewood, California; Foxboro, Massachusetts and Las Vegas.
“There are certainly examples of stadium projects that have fared badly for host communities," he said. "However, there are others that have been great successes for host communities, and we, obviously, want to do all we can to be in that latter camp."
Recklaus pointed out the Bears can't develop the Arlington Park property without village approval. He also added the village is retaining specialty consultants to study potential financial and traffic impacts of a possible Bears development.
Trustee Robin Labedz and a couple of members of the public offered opinions on wanting to preserve the “specialness” of downtown Arlington Heights should the Bears decide to develop the Arlington Park land.
“It is a jewel and, like you said, it is an award-winning downtown and it is a reason, we know from surveys, that people move here,” Labedz said.
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