Bob Dunn unveils $2.2B Soldier Field renovation vision

The Lightfoot administration’s Soldier Field advisor has released plans to transform the stadium with a dome that would attempt to keep cold weather out and the NFL’s Bears in Chicago.

Reimagine Soldier Field from Light Touch Media Group on Vimeo.

Bob Dunn’s Landmark Development, the stadium builder who has been working with Mayor Lori Lightfoot on plans to redesign the stadium on the Near South Side, released a virtual tour of the reimagined space on Sunday as the Bears’ season concluded, the Chicago Sun-Times reported.

Dunn said the renovations and dome addition would cost the NFL team at least $1 billion less than building a new stadium from the ground up in Arlington Heights where the team is under contract to buy the former Arlington International Racecourse campus for $197 million.

Landmark’s interest in the Bears’ future home may go beyond wanting to keep the team in its namesake city. The firm proposed building a massive, $3.8 billion mixed-used entertainment and transit development on top of a 32-acre rail yard near the stadium and museum campus on the lakeshore. He lost out in the contest to develop the city’s first casino with a proposal that would have incorporated a Hard Rock-branded gambling site into the project, as a $1.7 billion Bally’s bid for a River West site won the city’s blessing. Yet keeping the Bears nearby Dunn’s so-called One Central proposal might rejuvenate some momentum for it.

He’s worked on stadiums including MetLife Stadium in New Jersey as well as the NFL homes for each of the Bears NFC North rivals, and envisions the stadium as a commercial and entertainment hub that will attract tourists year-round and spur further residential development on the Near South Side. In addition to the dome, Dunn’s plans include expanding seating and adding pricier club lounges as well as food halls and an adjacent concert venue. Dunn is an unpaid mayoral advisor and developed the plans at Landmark’s expense.

Officials with the Bears, who didn’t contribute to the Soldier Field redesign plans, said they are only speaking with Arlington Heights officials about the team’s plans to build a new stadium in the Chicago suburb.

Funding for Soldier Field’s renovations would likely come from taxpayers. The Illinois Sports Facilities Authority, which handles Soldier Field’s debt, says the stadium’s 2003 renovations still haven’t been paid off and the city owes more than $631 million by 2032. Dunn’s plans are estimated to cost about $2.2 billion.

“Mayor Lightfoot has been vocal about the need to reimagine the experience at Soldier Field,” city officials told the outlet in a statement. “The city still believes that Soldier Field is the best home for the Chicago Bears and continues to . . . explore the future of the stadium.”

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