Is a Bears move to Arlington Park realistic? Other NFL towns show what has to happen

Is a Bears move to Arlington Park realistic? Other NFL towns show what has to happenLegendary Chicago Bears owner George Halas drew rousing applause in 1975 when he spoke of his beloved football team moving from Soldier Field to the suburbs.”I hope and pray that 1977 will find the Bears contending for a title in a new stadium in Arlington Heights,” he said to members of the Arlington Heights Chamber of Commerce.A new stadium proposed for the Arlington Park site didn’t happen then. And it didn’t happen 10 years later when Michael McCaskey, Halas’ grandson, raised the possibility of NFL football at the racetrack in the months after the devastating fire there in 1985.Thirty-five years later, talk about the Bears moving to Arlington Park is back.As Arlington Heights officials broach the idea of another run at a stadium — and Bears officials resist denying rumors about a move — what makes this effort different from those of the past? Is it realistic to think the Bears would follow the lead of NFL franchises such as the Arizona Cardinals and the Los Angeles Chargers and Rams by trying to thrive in the suburbs?Who would pay for a stadium estimated to cost around $5 billion, and how would the Bears remove themselves from a Soldier Field lease with the Chicago Park District that runs until 2033?In addition to the potential financial risks, there’s a chance Bears officials are using talk of a move to negotiate a better lease deal at Soldier Field. But the potential rewards for the village are glaring: an NFL franchise, Super Bowls, Final Four basketball games and the chance at massive tax revenues if the project is planned correctly.Experts acknowledge the challenges are many. But if the proper players line up with a drive to make it happen, a state-of-the-art stadium in Arlington Heights is a possibility.The talkUnless Churchill Downs Inc., which owns Arlington Park, sells to another horse racing entity or a sale falls through, this is expected to be the final season for the iconic venue that’s hosted horse racing since 1927. The group set a June 15 deadline to submit initial offers.When asked about the choice between continued horse racing or building a Bears stadium at the 326-acre site, Arlington Heights Mayor Tom Hayes said, “They’re both on the table for me.” Bears Senior Vice President of Marketing and Communications Scott Hagel didn’t deny an interest in a move, telling the Daily Herald, “Our focus continues to be around safely returning fans to Soldier Field for the 2021 season.”Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot made her intentions clear to keep the Bears in Chicago, saying the city remains engaged with Bears officials about Soldier Field issues. She also pinned hopes on the Bears’ lease by saying “the NFL doesn’t let any teams break their leases.”Stanford professor emeritus Roger Noll, an economist and author of a book titled “Sports, Jobs and Taxes: The Economic Impact of Sports Teams and Stadiums,” disagreed with Lightfoot’s assessment.Based on his research, teams will find a way to break a lease if it’s to their benefit.”Put it this way,” Noll said. “If you’ve got a lease you can’t break, you didn’t do a very good job negotiating it.”By the time a new stadium could be built, perhaps five years down the road, it will be much easier for the Bears to buy their way out of the shorter term remaining on the lease. Noll also said the reconstruction of Soldier Field, completed in 2003, will be more than 20 years old by then and the Bears — like other NFL teams have done — could escape the lease by arguing the stadium has outlived its usefulness.