An unreleased draft report by an advisory committee to Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot — I know that’s a ton of qualifiers already, but bear with me here — is set to propose that the city “explore the feasibility” of putting a dome on Soldier Field, something the draft report says “almost certainly” would require public money and “sources close to the matter” tell Crain’s Chicago Business could cost $400 million to $1.5 billion.
Phew! That’s a lot right there. Let’s try some questions:
Why the hell?
Because a dome! It allows more stuff! Stuff like “the Super Bowl, the NCAA Final Four championship and WrestleMania”! Though the report also says the costs of adding a roof “would almost certainly not be offset by additional revenue opportunities,” so, uh, the question above stands.
Who are these people suggesting a roof?
The Lakefront Museum Campus Working Group was appointed by Lightfoot in February to “re-imagine” the area around the Bears‘ stadium and the Field Museum to “maximize” its benefits. It’s chaired by the head of a local investment firm and includes a whole lot of other Chicago CEOs, because surely running a major business is the best qualification for doing city planning.
Is a dome all they’re suggesting?
Hell no! They have a laundry list of ideas that is similarly a lot:
- Staging the world’s largest “Kris Kringle Market.”
- Holding an Igloo Fest.
- Building year-round restaurants, because surely people will want to go eat on the lakefront in February.
- Did I say “Kris Kringle Market”? Really don’t want you to miss that one. This is apparently what Germans call a Christmas market, and Chicago is (double-checks Google Maps) not in Germany, and Christmas is (double-checks the calendar) not a year-round event, now I have even more questions.
Do the Bears owners even want a dome?
Who the hell knows! But Lightfoot promised back in February when she appointed this panel that it would “make a very, very compelling financial case as to why it makes abundant sense for [the Bears] to stay in Chicago,” so presumably “Dome! And year-round mumble something! Kris Kringle!” is meant to qualify.
Or, Lightfoot is just throwing ideas at the wall so that if and when the Bears move to Arlington Heights, she can say she and her CEO minions at least tried. Throwing $1.5 billion ideas at the wall is risky, though, since there’s always the chance someone will accept.
In short, the city is advertising that the Bears or a 2nd team could pay for a dome out of pocket, and it would be more cost effective than a new stadium.
In the meantime, the Park District needs to pay its bills, and the Museum Campus could really use the parking lot to relocate the music venue.
As for the Christmas Market, it’s a massive Winter tenant that brings twice the number of visitors as the Bears that is bursting at the seams and has completely run out of room in its downtown location.
So if the Bears aren’t playing, these guys could really use the stadium and parking lot space.
https://youtu.be/lTLxyuBi6Sw
“This is the biggest Christmas market in the United States! It draws a crowd of over a million people every year. Join the fun when you visit Chicago this year! If you can’t visit the famous Christmas markets of Germany, this is the next best thing. In fact, this market was modeled after Christkindlesmarkt, an annual market in Nuremberg, Germany!“
Mmm, no, I’m pretty sure “almost certainly” would require public money means “almost certainly would require public money.”
As for the Christmas market, how many of those million people are out-of-towners? Not that there’s anything wrong with running a market for the benefit of Chicagoans, but them buying Christmas presents in one part of the city instead of another isn’t a net gain.
If a dome were a serious negotiated proposal at the moment, there probably would be $100 million for infrastructure from the city.
But I would bet good money, that there is minimal appetite for a billion dollar subsidy for a sports stadium at any level of government.
As for the team, even the full expense would be more cost effective than an Arlington Heights stadium where the financing and business plan remain murky.
I expect some showmanship using Soldier Field to upstage the Arlington Heights design to portray the Bears as unreasonable.
The other proposals like the restaurants and Christmas Market are realistic without a stadium investment.
The South Loop took a harder economic blow than the rest of the city, and obviously Chicago considers relocation of economic activity further South to be a gain even without increased overall revenue.
The customers at the Christmas Market are mostly tourists and people from the suburbs, so increasing the scope would likely produce a net gain to the city proper.
The Christkindlmarket is a blast and well attended, but some of that has to be because it’s held right in the middle of the loop. Moving out by Soldier Field would probably dampen the appeal.
I’m not so sure. It’s right next to the museums and convention center.
The market just expanded to Wrigleyville which became just as crowded as the main market, and there are now lines for Daley Plaza that are more than a city block long.
As for the Soldier Field, it just looks like brainstorming and not serious plans.
There’s pie-in-th-sky proposals like domes and monorails that the city will never build.
And more reasonable proposals like Christmas markets and music stages
https://chicago.suntimes.com/city-hall/2022/7/6/23196987/soldier-field-dome-plans-mayor-working-group-ideas-museum-campus-bears-arlington-heights-move?_amp=true
One thing I would like to see is a tram or other light rail connecting Roosevelt with the museum campus, including Soldier Field and the convention center (maybe running west to Halsted). As a general matter I would also like to see more done with the parking fields there.
If these plans are an acknowledgement that the Bears are as good as gone, I would propose tearing the space ship out of the Soldier Field bowl and restoring a seating configuration appropriate to its original intent.
Soldier Field, over the years, has played host to auto and motorcycle racing, demolition derbies, high school and college athletic competitions, ski jumping contests, and prayer revivals. It already serves as a concert venue.
Make the stadium space flexible to handle big acts or smaller ones, that would allow the removal of the pavilion from Northerly Island so they can complete the task of converting it into a nature reserve.
As for the Waldron Drive lot and the lot adjacent to Lakeside Center- tear them out and build something akin to Tivoli Gardens in Copenhagen. The two lots and the surrounding land is about 45 acres in total. Tivoli Gardens sits on about 20 acres, and is crammed with rides, attractions, shops, restaurants, and performance spots.
The park operates with the rides April thru late September, reopens for the Halloween season, then again at Christmas (with a Christmas market) without the rides, as well as during the month of February.
Make the park free to enter, requiring payment to use any attraction.
Transportation is available via Metra Electric, which will eventually have thru trains from the north and northwest sides/suburbs as well as O’Hare, as result of the announced St. Charles Air Line Connector. The McCormick Place Busway is grade separated and can shuttle tourists from points north and south of the area.
Da Bears have given Da Finger to the mayor and the parks board. It’ll be Arlington Park or nothing.
https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/bears-shut-down-soldier-field-dome-proposal-renovations-to-keep-team-in-downtown-chicago/