(WBBM NEWSRADIO) — Arlington Heights officials say they won’t make decision about a possible Bears stadium and related development at the Arlington Park site without the input of residents.
Arlington Heights Mayor Tom Hayes said there’s a long way to go with the project, though the village is off to a great start.
“This is a complex project. 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,” he said this week.
Village Manager Randy Recklaus said his team is reaching out to other cities that have built new stadiums or sports and entertainment districts to determine what works and what doesn’t, to avoid any pitfalls.
Recklaus said his team has met so far with officials from Englewood, California; Foxboro, Massachusetts and Las Vegas.
“There are certainly examples of stadium projects that have fared badly for host communities. 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,” he said.
And Recklaus pointed out the Bears cannot develop the Arlington Park property without village approval.
He also said 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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