Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s plans to revamp Soldier Field could cost as much as $2.2 billion.
In a presentation to city leaders, Lightfoot said her administration wants to improve the NFL’s smallest stadium even if the Bears do leave the city for good, the Chicago Tribune reported. The Bears signed a purchase agreement for the Arlington International Racecourse a year ago.
The mayor presented three options. The first, announced earlier this month, would be to enclose the stadium with a dome. The second would make the field “dome ready” with columns at each of the end zones. The third would be to revamp the stadium as a multipurpose venue that could host soccer and other events.
“Soldier Field must be a year-round destination,” Lightfoot said in the presentation.
According to the mayor, whichever option is chosen will depend on which anchor tenant the field can secure. That will also determine the final cost of the renovations.
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Despite the latest attempts to keep the team in the city, the Bears didn’t show any interest in the updated renovation plans and when asked for a comment, released a statement from earlier this month.
“The only potential project the Chicago Bears are exploring for a new stadium development is Arlington Park,” the statement said. “As part of our mutual agreement with the seller of that property, we are not pursuing alternative stadium deals or sites, including renovations to Soldier Field, while we are under contract.
The Bears “intend to honor our contractual commitments as we continue our due diligence and predevelopment activities on the Arlington Heights property,” the team said.
Lightfoot said the team would be “foolish” not to consider staying in the city, saying it would be cheaper to stay at Soldier Field than to build another venue somewhere else.
Soldier Field, which is owned by the Chicago Park District, has the smallest crowd capacity in the NFL with 61,500 seats.
— Victoria Pruitt