Bears Stadium news

[WrigleyField 22]

Just now, Banedon said:

After being absolutely convinced yesterday that the Bears were heading to Indiana, David Haugh is really backtracking on the radio this morning.  There are a lot of "in the know" types apparently that think this is just another step in the process of negotiation and that they'll still end up in AH.

I'm fairly confident all the super confident ones are straight up mouthpiece. 

 

Thats not to say Indiana isn't real. But if the Bears want best leverage possible, they need the window on both to stay open. Even with the legislation in place in Indiana they don't have a real deal until ink is on paper with financial terms and a site plan. And having two courters strengthens their leverage no matter who their favorite is. I predicted weeks ago that the Bears would make some level of commitment to Indiana by end if Feb. And actually that statement was even less commital than I thought they'd go.

[Soul]

Yep yep.  There are the smokestacks, billowing in the background.  I can see the meme posts now.  This is what we get for decades of loyal support. 
 

A superfund stadium.  There’s, like, a major lead poisoning problem in that area.  Even if it’s not proven to be leaking on to that site you think parents are going to take the fam there?

I realize I’m being overly emotional but this is soul-crushing in my view.  This is way worse than the mistake by the lake and I didn’t think that was possible.

[Tryptamine]

The same people who horsefeathers on Pritzker for reckless spending are the same people mad at him for refusing to throw nearly a billion dollars of taxpayer money at the Bears, 20ish years after they threw a bunch of money at a stadium renovation that blew up in their faces spectacularly. 

[WrigleyField 22]

Lmao

https://indianaeconomicdigest.net/MobileContent/Most-Recent/Government-state/Article/Wolf-Lake-site-in-Lake-County-would-pose-challenges-for-new-Chicago-Bears-stadium-residents-say/31/124/120669

Quote

"Where would you put it?" he asked. "You could never, ever, ever put something like that by a chemical plant. That would be so dangerous. Remember when it was still Keil Chemical? They gave some guy an award for stopping a bromine leak with a mop handle. He shoved a mop handle into a gauge, or it would have exposed kids playing on Clark Field to bromine."

 

Edited February 21 by WrigleyField 22

[BigbadB]

21 hours ago, mul21 said:

Let's not get carried away here.  He had a successful real estate business but marrying into the Walton family has absolutely allowed him to do all the things he has with regard to sports ownership.

LOL. Glad someone pointed that out. Self made and marrying into money are certainly not the same. Same result, but different ways of getting there. And Kroenke walked away from a several year lease in St. Louis.

[Wilson A2000]

 

[WrigleyField 22]

6 minutes ago, Wilson A2000 said:

 

DBB said same thing. Of course DBB still says glowing reviews of Phillips and it seems pretty evident Phillips didn't know how to prep for a stadium deal either as he oversaw purchase and closing period until Warren came in. 

[Brian707]

If Warren really is in hot water, does that mean George has 0 interest in Indiana?

What a cluster horsefeathers

[Wilson A2000]

7 minutes ago, Brian707 said:

If Warren really is in hot water, does that mean George has 0 interest in Indiana?

What a cluster horsefeathers

The Bears have no real interest in Indiana. Warren would have probably been fired already, but that would hurt the Bears’ bargaining position with the state of Illinois. 

[WrigleyField 22]

12 minutes ago, Wilson A2000 said:

The Bears have no real interest in Indiana. Warren would have probably been fired already, but that would hurt the Bears’ bargaining position with the state of Illinois. 

I have a hard time believing the interest is zero.  However it's clear to me that the Indiana deal won't be a clear giveaway where it's like $4B difference or something absurd. If it's like $1B package in favor of Indiana it's all short term financial gain and will be probably all be lost in like a decade.

[Geographyhater8888]

12 hours ago, WrigleyField 22 said:

Lmao

https://indianaeconomicdigest.net/MobileContent/Most-Recent/Government-state/Article/Wolf-Lake-site-in-Lake-County-would-pose-challenges-for-new-Chicago-Bears-stadium-residents-say/31/124/120669

 

Great spot to tailgate at least. 

Edited February 21 by Geographyhater8888

[MidoreX]

1 hour ago, Brian707 said:

If Warren really is in hot water, does that mean George has 0 interest in Indiana?

What a cluster horsefeathers

I think Warren is doing exactly what he was hired to do...

George realized after the fact that they horsefeathered up by buying the AH land before attempting to create a bidding war amongst municipalities for all of the money and tax certainties they're looking for. So they brought him in to clean up their mess and be a lightning rod for the criticism that would inevitably come with it. He throws a bunch of stuff at the wall to create whatever leverage and urgency he can to ultimately get the deal done in AH, and George gets to leak to the press that he "isn't happy" with what's going on and not look like the bad guy.

In reality they should just sell the team to someone with enough cash to not need all this BS to build a stadium, but what are you gonna do.

Edited February 21 by MidoreX

[WrigleyField 22]

1 hour ago, MidoreX said:

I think Warren is doing exactly what he was hired to do...

George realized after the fact that they horsefeathered up by buying the AH land before attempting to create a bidding war amongst municipalities for all of the money and tax certainties they're looking for. So they brought him in to clean up their mess and be a lightning rod for the criticism that would inevitably come with it. He throws a bunch of stuff at the wall to create whatever leverage and urgency he can to ultimately get the deal done in AH, and George gets to leak to the press that he "isn't happy" with what's going on and not look like the bad guy.

In reality they should just sell the team to someone with enough cash to not need all this BS to build a stadium, but what are you gonna do.

Nah Warren bungled this. It would never have taken this long with someone who knew what they were doing. 

 

Thats even if it meant they eventually ended up in Indiana. They probably could have been playing there by 2027, if not this year. 

Edited February 21 by WrigleyField 22

[MidoreX]

6 minutes ago, WrigleyField 22 said:

Nah Warren bungled this. It would never have taken this long with someone who knew what they were doing. 

 

Thats even if it meant they eventually ended up in Indiana. They probably could have been playing there by 2027, if not this year. 

 Oh, he's DEFINITELY doing a terrible job. Didn't mean to imply otherwise

[BigbadB]

20 hours ago, MidoreX said:

In reality they should just sell the team to someone with enough cash to not need all this BS to build a stadium, but what are you gonna do.

It's going to happen regardless of how rich the owner is. It's in the rich man's playbook. Make the taxpayers build it and then make the taxpayers pay to go see it. 

[BigSlick]

It’s funny how the thing Kevin Warren was hired to do, get a stadium built, he’s absolute horsefeathers at, but the thing I (and I imagine most fans) care the most about, getting a good coach, he was at least somewhat a part of. So who’s to say if he deserves to be fired or not, lol 

[WrigleyField 22]

I figured people overestimated how much revenue Bears generate to city at Soldier Field. But even this is lower than I thought

https://www.fox32chicago.com/news/exclusive-chicago-park-district-pitches-630-million-plan-post-bears-soldier-field

Quote

According to internal Park District figures, the Bears account for less than 20% of the revenue generated by the stadium. The rest comes from outside events like concerts, international soccer matches and a year-round parking garage used for people visiting the museum campus.

I've long though Solider Field will function better as a city asset without Bears. But that revenue gap will still be significant, and there's plenty of room for them to keep effing it up.

[mul21]

46 minutes ago, WrigleyField 22 said:

I figured people overestimated how much revenue Bears generate to city at Soldier Field. But even this is lower than I thought

https://www.fox32chicago.com/news/exclusive-chicago-park-district-pitches-630-million-plan-post-bears-soldier-field

I've long though Solider Field will function better as a city asset without Bears. But that revenue gap will still be significant, and there's plenty of room for them to keep effing it up.

Yeah, not having to schedule around them will free up a lot of dates even into October that they might not have been able to make use of because of the Bears.  

[Banedon]

58 minutes ago, WrigleyField 22 said:

I figured people overestimated how much revenue Bears generate to city at Soldier Field. But even this is lower than I thought

https://www.fox32chicago.com/news/exclusive-chicago-park-district-pitches-630-million-plan-post-bears-soldier-field

I've long though Solider Field will function better as a city asset without Bears. But that revenue gap will still be significant, and there's plenty of room for them to keep effing it up.

But this is exactly why the Bears want to own the facility.  They want that big chunk they aren't getting now.

[WrigleyField 22]

5 minutes ago, Banedon said:

But this is exactly why the Bears want to own the facility.  They want that big chunk they aren't getting now.

But they're too poor to do it themselves 

[Banedon]

1 minute ago, WrigleyField 22 said:

But they're too poor to do it themselves 

[Geographyhater8888]

On 2/20/2026 at 10:02 AM, Soul said:

Yep yep.  There are the smokestacks, billowing in the background.  I can see the meme posts now.  This is what we get for decades of loyal support. 
 

A superfund stadium.  There’s, like, a major lead poisoning problem in that area.  Even if it’s not proven to be leaking on to that site you think parents are going to take the fam there?

I realize I’m being overly emotional but this is soul-crushing in my view.  This is way worse than the mistake by the lake and I didn’t think that was possible.

That’s how i feel. I really wanted them to build in Gary closer to Lake Michigan.. It’s upsetting. At least they’d still have a scenic view of wolf lake to remind us of the good old days. 

Edited February 23 by Geographyhater8888

[WrigleyField 22]

3 minutes ago, Banedon said:

No it's absolutely true they're too poor (cash flow wise). Not making the argument they should be helped either. But they can't really properly liquidate or leverage it because of NFL rules. So they're stuck and trying to get the taxpayer to subsidize them 

[Sammy Sofa]

27 minutes ago, WrigleyField 22 said:

No it's absolutely true they're too poor (cash flow wise). Not making the argument they should be helped either. But they can't really properly liquidate or leverage it because of NFL rules. So they're stuck and trying to get the taxpayer to subsidize them 

Then they should be forced to sell the team.

[WrigleyField 22]

25 minutes ago, Sammy Sofa said:

Then they should be forced to sell the team.

No complaint by me if they ever sell, but forced by who? 

 

It's possible NFL would relax some of those liquidity or leverage rules if they knew they would sell... Because they wanna pump that topline valuation number to be BIG if they can... But it would be dependent on a sale happening

Edited February 23 by WrigleyField 22