Bears New Stadium Nonsense Repository

[Grizzled]

The Bears wouldn't lose that much more revenue if they went with AH and the taxes the school districts want. I figure Warren's playing high stakes poker. Save and excepting a downtown plan is developed showing significant revenues flowing to the Bears, I don't see how they can walk away from AH. Developing AH will really see the monies flowing to the McCasky family from many streams, from renting out the stadium (and parking) for other events to rents or ? from developers for retail stores, restaurants, possibly housing. Probably be able to build a bigger stadium also in AH, no limit on size although the Bears aren't going to build an 80,000 seat venue.

[IotaNet]

The Bears wouldn't lose that much more revenue if they went with AH and the taxes the school districts want. I figure Warren's playing high stakes poker. Save and excepting a downtown plan is developed showing significant revenues flowing to the Bears, I don't see how they can walk away from AH. Developing AH will really see the monies flowing to the McCasky family from many streams, from renting out the stadium (and parking) for other events to rents or ? from developers for retail stores, restaurants, possibly housing. Probably be able to build a bigger stadium also in AH, no limit on size although the Bears aren't going to build an 80,000 seat venue.

I get the sense that there is something ELSE the Bears want from Arlington Heights. As has been previously pointed out, a million here, a million there in taxes are single-digit percentage points in the larger scheme. Certainly not worth killing the deal over.

I think there is another key point - some key concession, that the Bears are looking for that has not been (and may never be) made public.

Whatever it is, KW is not showing his hand publicly, but he is definitely playing his cards masterfully.

[Moriarty]

The Bears wouldn't lose that much more revenue if they went with AH and the taxes the school districts want. I figure Warren's playing high stakes poker. Save and excepting a downtown plan is developed showing significant revenues flowing to the Bears, I don't see how they can walk away from AH. Developing AH will really see the monies flowing to the McCasky family from many streams, from renting out the stadium (and parking) for other events to rents or ? from developers for retail stores, restaurants, possibly housing. Probably be able to build a bigger stadium also in AH, no limit on size although the Bears aren't going to build an 80,000 seat venue.

I get the sense that there is something ELSE the Bears want from Arlington Heights. As has been previously pointed out, a million here, a million there in taxes are single-digit percentage points in the larger scheme. Certainly not worth killing the deal over.

I think there is another key point - some key concession, that the Bears are looking for that has not been (and may never be) made public.

You may be right.

I'm scratching my head wondering why the Bears are making such a big deal out of short-term issues.
Once they get that area developed with stadium, shops, etc, the valuation is going to change dramatically, anyway. Why waste time battling over penny-ante stuff?
They are the current owners and they are going to pay tax on the property right now, whether they're spending the time building or spending the time arguing.
It shouldn't be that long before the cost of wasted time catches up to the cost of starting now at a higher tax level.

Are they trying to negotiate tax breaks for after the land is developed now, also?

[wulfy]

The shame in all of this is that it keeps shovels from going into the ground. It will be another year until there is a "deal" in place regardless of the site - and probably 18+ months until they start the build. Meaning you are looking at 2028 .... at the earliest.

[Atkins&Rebel]

I get the sense that there is something ELSE the Bears want from Arlington Heights. As has been previously pointed out, a million here, a million there in taxes are single-digit percentage points in the larger scheme. Certainly not worth killing the deal over.

I think there is another key point - some key concession, that the Bears are looking for that has not been (and may never be) made public.

You may be right.

I'm scratching my head wondering why the Bears are making such a big deal out of short-term issues.
Once they get that area developed with stadium, shops, etc, the valuation is going to change dramatically, anyway. Why waste time battling over penny-ante stuff?
They are the current owners and they are going to pay tax on the property right now, whether they're spending the time building or spending the time arguing.
It shouldn't be that long before the cost of wasted time catches up to the cost of starting now at a higher tax level.

Are they trying to negotiate tax breaks for after the land is developed now, also?

It’s easy to scoff at a few million loss when the deal could yield so much more. But that is poor person thinking 101
The rich don’t stay rich by giving away a million dollars here or there freely. Especially not to some greedy bureaucrats

[Moriarty]

You may be right.

I'm scratching my head wondering why the Bears are making such a big deal out of short-term issues.
Once they get that area developed with stadium, shops, etc, the valuation is going to change dramatically, anyway. Why waste time battling over penny-ante stuff?
They are the current owners and they are going to pay tax on the property right now, whether they're spending the time building or spending the time arguing.
It shouldn't be that long before the cost of wasted time catches up to the cost of starting now at a higher tax level.

Are they trying to negotiate tax breaks for after the land is developed now, also?

It’s easy to scoff at a few million loss when the deal could yield so much more. But that is poor person thinking 101
The rich don’t stay rich by giving away a million dollars here or there freely. Especially not to some greedy bureaucrats

But the time they spend investigating and negotiating isn't free, either.
They've had an expensive parcel of land and done nothing with it for 14 months now.
I don't know if the commercial rate is the same as residential, but if it is, that's easily 3M in tax for time spent sitting.

[HisRoyalSweetness]

Bears make big additions to legal team in continued push for new lakefront stadium

The Chicago Bears have tapped Andrea Zopp, an established leader in the world of Chicago business and politics, to serve as an adviser in the team’s continued push for a new lakefront stadium.

Zopp, most recently a managing partner at venture capital firm Cleveland Avenue, will join the Bears as a senior adviser of legal and business affairs.

Zopp was not the only strategic hire made this week, as the team also announced Krista Whitaker as the club's new executive vice president of legal and business affairs and chief legal officer.

"We are thrilled to welcome both Krista and Andy to the Chicago Bears family," Bears President and CEO Kevin Warren said in a statement released by the team. "Their combined expertise and dedication to excellence will be invaluable as we navigate complex legal issues, develop innovative programs and drive strategic initiatives, including the development of a new Chicago Bears stadium.”

Zopp was not made available for an interview Thursday as she had not yet been brought up to speed "regarding stadium discussions," according to a team spokesperson.

Before joining Cleveland Avenue, Zopp served as CEO and president of World Business Chicago for three years. Prior to that, Zopp was Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s deputy mayor and chief neighborhood development officer.

Zopp also ran for the U.S. Senate in 2016, losing in the Democratic primary the incumbent, Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill.
...

Full article: https://chicago.suntimes.com/bears/2024 ... ss-chicago

[Moriarty]

It’s easy to scoff at a few million loss when the deal could yield so much more. But that is poor person thinking 101
The rich don’t stay rich by giving away a million dollars here or there freely. Especially not to some greedy bureaucrats

But the time they spend investigating and negotiating isn't free, either.
They've had an expensive parcel of land and done nothing with it for 14 months now.
I don't know if the commercial rate is the same as residential, but if it is, that's easily 3M in tax for time spent sitting.

https://wgntv.com/sports/bears-report/r ... ghts-site/


This says they rang up a 9M tax bill for sitting on the property in the first year. (They are appealing for it to be reduced to 1.8M)

[Grizzled]

The other day, AH said a Bears stadium on the site is dead. But I'd find it hard to believe if they weren't still trying to negotiate with the Bears.

[Shadow]

It really feels like when the McCaskey's bought that land, to build a stadium. AH thought they won the Lottery and started planning how to spend all that revenue, before they even got paid.
No wonder the Bears are looking elsewhere.
If I was the McCaskey's I would turn it into a giant ugly fully automated distribution hub. Or a garbage sorting facility.

[Moriarty]

If I was the McCaskey's I would turn it into a giant ugly fully automated distribution hub. Or a garbage sorting facility.

AH could refuse to zone it for garbage.
And they probably wouldn't cry over the distribution hub. That would generate tax revenue without straining local resource (police, fire/emergency, schools, park district, etc - ie, costing tax money) to the degree the Bears Stadium & Community plan would.

I think the only card the Bears have is hoping some of the many AH factions involved panic and start turning on each other.
And it's costing them millions/yr to wait and find out.

[Bearfacts]

Why is it not possible to build a new stadium on the site of Soldier Field? If the columns are that precious move them away from the stadium and use them as an entrance into the area. It's always seemed little ridiculous they needed to stay in place when the current renovations were done. Although from where I sit I don't know why the McCaskey's would even want to remain in the city.

[Rusty Trombagent]

If I was the McCaskey's I would turn it into a giant ugly fully automated distribution hub. Or a garbage sorting facility.

And they probably wouldn't cry over the distribution hub. That would generate tax revenue without straining local resource (police, fire/emergency, schools, park district, etc - ie, costing tax money) to the degree the Bears Stadium & Community plan would.

They'd absolutely cry when they're spending a few million a year on road repairs.

There was a great article i read a few years back that talked about the hidden costs of distribution hubs, and how they absolutely fuck the finances of the towns they're built in because they're so taxing on the infrastructure.

[Grizzled]

And they probably wouldn't cry over the distribution hub. That would generate tax revenue without straining local resource (police, fire/emergency, schools, park district, etc - ie, costing tax money) to the degree the Bears Stadium & Community plan would.

They'd absolutely cry when they're spending a few million a year on road repairs.

There was a great article i read a few years back that talked about the hidden costs of distribution hubs, and how they absolutely fuck the finances of the towns they're built in because they're so taxing on the infrastructure.

Reminds me a bit of some fiction I once read. A Mafia family ran overweight 18 wheelers out of NYC (after bribing the appropriate officials to look the other way) and owns the companies selling the concrete to rebuild the roads (probably have their fingers in the construction companies also).

[malagabears]

BOOM!!!

[UOK]

BOOM!!!

Only the NFL could make some renderings of an imaginary building a major media event, lol.

[Moriarty]

BOOM!!!

Only the NFL could make some renderings of an imaginary building a major media event, lol.

Yeah, making some drawings and saying "hey, we've got 2B of the 4B we'll need all figured out" isn't as big a deal as what both the Mayor and Warren want you to believe.


So, I'm pretty skeptical.
Then I remember I'm not at all enthusiastic about AH being the site, either.
But I also don't know what ends up there, if not the Bears.
So, I'll just cringe in general.

[HisRoyalSweetness]

Anthony Adams understands the priorities!

[Grizzled]

It is expected that Warren will announce a $4.6B price tag for a lakeside stadium with the Bears putting up half. Crickets ....

[IotaNet]

The press conference will be live at noon at: https://www.chicagobears.com/

Or here:

[UOK]

The press conference will be live at noon at: https://www.chicagobears.com/

Or here:

They opened this press conference with...a prayer? What the fuck?

Also:

[Moriarty]

The press conference will be live at noon at: https://www.chicagobears.com/

They opened this press conference with...a prayer? What the fuck?

That's so people can't say "the downtown stadium 'plan' doesn't have a prayer"

[UOK]

Renders

[UOK]

[Otis Day]

No new taxes for Chicagoans. Maybe not property tax, school tax, road use tax, but that probably means there will be increased motel tax, theater tax, gas tax, amusement tax...........This will get more interesting over time. This better not affect me downstate.

Shouldn't that total say $3.225 B, not M? they have me worried already with shitty graphics and they can't get the total correct. Shitty proof reader there.

[UOK]

Just an aside, I will delete my post if I open a can of worms, but I'm still not over that they opened this thing with a prayer.

It feels really, really tonedeaf to ask God to bless the Bears and Chicago with the olympics and super bowls. I get that jobs will be created and all that, but this entire enterprise feels like the kind of thing that should need precisely zero engagement from prayer, any church, and any tax dollars.

Save your prayers for those who need it, not for these rich fucks all trying to get richer.

Laurence Holmes tore into them on WSCR a few minutes ago. As angry as I've ever seen him on-air. Said it better than I ever could. I'll share it once it's available.

[Otis Day]

I agree UOK. Seems like they are trying to win over a section of the population they have never addressed before. Lets put clergy out front see who we can win over. Trashy at best. Pretty effing ridiculous on a whole new level.

[wulfy]

Just an aside, I will delete my post if I open a can of worms, but I'm still not over that they opened this thing with a prayer.

It feels really, really tonedeaf to ask God to bless the Bears and Chicago with the olympics and super bowls. I get that jobs will be created and all that, but this entire enterprise feels like the kind of thing that should need precisely zero engagement from prayer, any church, and any tax dollars.

Save your prayers for those who need it, not for these rich fucks all trying to get richer.

Laurence Holmes tore into them on WSCR a few minutes ago. As angry as I've ever seen him on-air. Said it better than I ever could. I'll share it once it's available.

I wasn't as horrified that they opened it with a prayer ... Kevin Warren is clearly deeply religious and Brandon Johnson does what he is told. I'm sure it sounded like a good idea in the rehearsal.

But the prayer itself was completely inappropriate - asking God to make this stadium happen and to make the Bears be like 1985 again? WTF? Pray to end the violence, pray to end the suffering of families who are mourning lost ones everyday, pray for God's wisdom to solve the migrant crisis, pray for clarity and good hearts .... but don't pray for God to help you build a stadium.

[wulfy]

On a separate note - I'm bummed there wasn't a pull tabs mention. That basically funded the entire Minneapolis stadium.

The reason that his happened, according to Front Office Sports, is because tax revenue from electronic pull tabs brought in revenue far above and beyond the original projections.

Having spent A LOT of time in Minnesota for business - you can't go into any bar or restaurant without a pull tab vendor there. What I personally like about the pull tabs is it's a consumption revenue stream - essentially like a scratch off lottery ticket that people CHOOSE to participate in or not. I've played probably 10 tabs in my life: 0-10, but it was my choice.

[UOK]

As a Champaign-Urbana resident, I am looking forward to Caleb Williams' prime playing out at the Illini's memorial stadium.