Building a new stadium never makes economic sense, but we do it for other reasons.
It’s about boosting our local pride, spurring economic stimulus through construction, guiding urban development, increasing tourism, and improving infrastructure and transportation. It’s about creating conversations about Chicago that are heard throughout the country and around the world.
It’s an opportunity to make big, bold architectural moves.
The Chicago Bears, White Sox and the Chicago Red Stars are all seeking government funding and financing for new stadiums and in some cases are threatening to leave Chicago if they don’t get what they want.
But there is another team that has not threatened to leave the city. A historical team integrated into the fabric of Chicago. A team whose economic impact far exceeds that of any proposed stadium. A team whose pregame might be at Petterino’s or the Italian Village or dozens of other restaurants from Michelin-starred to pizza parlors or popcorn shops. Its team pride might be exhibited by “Young, Scrappy and Hungry” hoodies or nutcrackers, sugar plums and candy canes.
That team is “Team Culture.” And its stadium is Chicago’s downtown.
Chicago’s culture defines us. Our food, our theater, our museums, our symphony, our opera, our dance, our music, our sports. Culture is what makes us, us. It’s about our quality of life and how others perceive us. And it’s what drives tourists to our city.
We are approaching one of those rare times that comes along once in a generation when we break open the piggy bank, count the pennies and take the plunge. In this case, the moment is the quickly approaching end-of-term stadium leases, out clauses and maturity of long-term bond financing, whose primary funding tool, in the case of the Sox, has been a large portion of the city and state hotel tax.
If we’re going to again commit those dollars to long-term bonds, we also need to reimagine all of our downtown as a stadium for culture.
The economic stimulus derived from construction, urban development, infrastructure and transportation improvements should prioritize transformational changes that support bold moves.
We could further integrate culture everywhere we can into the transformation of Michigan Avenue and State Street in a way that addresses the retail exodus and safety issues. We also could transform the historic LaSalle Street corridor into a iconic street with an innovative public realm and creative programming that is focused on reinvented mixed use in high-rise buildings, as recommended by an Illinois Institute of Technology study.
What revitalized our streets after COVID-19 in nearly every neighborhood? It was culture! When theaters illuminate downtown, Millennium Park teems with life. Locals and tourists stroll together through the theater district, Navy Pier and Chicago’s neighborhoods. And these all become safer and more vibrant places energized with people.
It’s our culture that yields that soft power when the Chicago Symphony or Joffrey Ballet travels worldwide carrying Chicago’s flag, when the Art Institute or Museum of Contemporary Art unveils new international exhibitions, and when images of a bustling Millennium Park and outdoor art installations become those Instagram moments seen worldwide.
From a tourism point of view, culture differentiates Chicago from other cities and speaks to who we are. Whenever we can support culture, it not only affects tourism, but it also adds to the quality of life for all of us who live here.
Our culture is synonymous with economic development and Chicago’s reputation. There is no other city in the world for theater like Chicago. Consider that Broadway In Chicago alone attracts up to 1.7 million patrons a year, making Chicago the third most important city in the world for commercial theater behind New York and London — more than twice the attendance of the Bears in a sold-out year. With more than 50% of Broadway In Chicago’s audience coming from 100 miles away or more for its long-run shows, it is a tourism powerhouse.
For the good of the city, when that piggy bank opens, Team Culture deserves a seat at the table so all of downtown can be envisioned with the holistic thought, changes and financial commitment afforded a stadium.
Or are threats the only language that drives the conversation? “If you don’t build a new stadium, we’re leaving.”
Have you heard Broadway In Chicago, the Goodman Theatre, the Chicago Shakespeare Theater, the Lyric Opera, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the Art Institute or the MCA say, “We are in conversations with Schaumburg, Oak Brook or Cleveland”? The answer is no.
Consider our downtown retail businesses that didn’t threaten to leave; they just left. Our downtown office occupants didn’t threaten to leave; they just decided to work from home.
It’s time to design a new downtown, viewed as a “cultural stadium,” that responds to our changing times. One that uses and maximizes culture for our residents and visitors and that boosts our local pride and stimulates our economy. A better downtown “stadium” would enhance all the cultural players who play in it.
This doesn’t mean we shouldn’t build new sports stadiums. It means we need to take a more holistic approach to how we use and maximize these funds for the health of Chicago and the generations to come.
The health and vitality of a city is in its people. Luring the best and brightest young talent to the city is key to the city’s success. And culture is paramount to keeping these residents here.
And we must never forget that the downtown cultural stadium belongs to us all.
Lou Raizin is president and CEO of Broadway In Chicago.