BRONZEVILLE (WBBM Newsradio) -- Executives from the Chicago Bears have a new contender to consider as they weigh where the team will play its home games ... one that could launch a wholesale reconstruction of the area south of McCormick Place along the city's lakefront.
The proposal advanced by Capri Investment Group and the owners of the old Michael Reese Hospital site at 31st Street and DuSable Lake Shore Drive would double the size of the property, which Capri Chairman Quintin Primo said would make room for a 75,000-seat domed stadium to anchor a development of homes, retail and office space, parkland and an addition to McCormick Place.
The "Bronzeville Lakefront" proposal follows by less than a week a proposal from developer Related Midwest that would create a mixed-use development anchored by a stadium next to the city's quantum campus along the Southeast side lakefront. Both represent new inspiration for state lawmakers working to craft a package of incentives to encourage the Bears to abandon its focus on accepting an offer from Indiana leaders of a lease at a publicly-financed stadium near Hammond.
"Bronzeville Lakefront checks all of the boxes for the Bears," Primo told reporters during an appearance Thursday morning with elected, business and community leaders at Olivet Baptist Church, 3101 S. Martin Luther King Jr. Dr. "There should be absolutely no reasons why the Bears and the N-F-L should not seriously consider Bronzeville Lakefront as the best site for their new home."
The plan would see the available property grow from 48 to 100 acres through the demolition of three towers at the adjacent Prairie Shores apartment complex. Primo says the proposal includes relocating tenants to new homes, and agreeing to freeze rents at their new apartments for as much as five years.
The Bears have insisted that its only viable site in the Chicago area is the former Arlington Park property in Arlington Heights which it purchased more than three years ago, but Primo says his proposal includes an answer for that obstacle: "Our global investors that we've signed with and I and our team are prepared to buy the Arlington Heights site and eliminate this conflict."
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson has long pointed to the proposal he made with Bears CEO Kevin Warren in 2024 that would have remade the Museum Campus around a publicly-owned domed stadium. A spokesperson for the mayor responded to WBBM Newsradio's request for comment about the new proposal with a statement that made no specific mention of the Bronzeville Lakefront plan. Instead, it made general references to the mayor's support for the team staying in Chicago, and an assertion that "when stakeholders with a track record of investing in Chicago come to the table with ideas, the Mayor is always willing to meet and listen, as many developers can attest."
The Bears' last detailed update on its plans came during the summer, when executives insisted their focus was on pursuing a deal with Indiana leaders. Our request for comment about this latest proposal has been unanswered.
Plan would build new Bears stadium at larger Michael Reese site
Plan would build new Bears stadium at larger Michael Reese site
