By Townhall Chicago News Staff
The Chicago Bears are close to a deal that would place a new domed stadium in Arlington Heights rather than Indiana, according to a Crane’s Chicago Business report discussed on AM 560 radio.
A publicly owned stadium in Arlington Heights would be exempt from property taxes, a condition the Bears have sought throughout their search for a new home, according to the report.
A vote in the Illinois General Assembly would likely be needed to advance the arrangement and could come during the legislature’s fall veto session, according to the radio program’s reporting.
The Bears have repeatedly said their primary focus remains a proposed stadium in Hammond, Indiana. Hammond Mayor Thomas McDermott has said the same, maintaining that the team’s attention is on the Indiana site.
Dan Proft, host of the radio program, said the Arlington Heights option is further along than other proposals that have circulated recently, including renderings posted by the architecture firm Skidmore, Owings and Merrill depicting a domed stadium at the current Guaranteed Rate Field site. “The Arlington Heights thing is serious, and I’ve got some insight on that that I’ll share with Mike Braun,” Proft said, referring to a planned interview with Indiana Gov. Mike Braun.
Guaranteed Rate Field, home of the Chicago White Sox, is separately expected to be vacated under a team plan to relocate the franchise to the South Loop.
Indiana officials, including McDermott, have continued to promote Hammond as the team’s likely landing spot even as the Arlington Heights option draws fresh attention from the Crane’s report.
The Illinois General Assembly’s veto session gives lawmakers a limited number of days each fall to take up legislation before adjourning for the year, creating a narrow window for any vote on a stadium deal this year. A publicly owned facility avoiding property taxes would represent a significant cost difference for the Bears compared with a privately owned stadium.
Neither the Bears nor Arlington Heights officials have confirmed the terms described in the Crane’s Chicago Business report. The team has not announced a final decision on a new stadium site.
Indiana Gov. Mike Braun was scheduled to join the radio program later Friday to discuss both the Crane’s report and the competing stadium proposals. Proft also referenced a separate “Bridgeport Bears” concept that has circulated alongside the Guaranteed Rate Field renderings, saying he does not consider either of those alternative proposals serious compared with the Arlington Heights option.
