It's time to abandon the Chicago Bears charade
The numbers don't make sense for the Bears to stay put
Chicago Bears President Kevin Warren and Mayor Brandon Johnson last week both issued statements about how warm and fuzzy their latest meeting was. The focus was the most recent in ongoing discussions between the two men about keeping the Chicago Bears in the city, and not moving to the suburbs-particularly Arlington Heights-as has been repeatedly reported.
It is evident the Bears top guy wants to maintain a cordial relationship with the mayor who is someone who is nowhere near Warren’s business or football equal. The mayor’s stated interpretation of the meetings is progress. The reality is they’re reflective of Warren’s kindness and generosity. It is also possible the former Big Ten Commissioner is meeting with Johnson to avoid embarrassing him.
Johnson’s much ballyhooed teaching and union organizing careers, pale tremendously when placed besides the reality that in Warren the mayor is dealing with a former sports attorney, someone with a storied operations career in pro football, and practicing attorney. And we should throw in he was the force behind getting the Minnesota Vikings a new stadium. The meetings are tantamount to Johnson getting free lessons on how the pro sports world works. It is just hubris on his part to believe he brings anything to the table that will reverse what the Bears have already put in motion.
Let’s look at the numbers
When we remove both men’s backgrounds from the equation we are left with the numbers and emotions. Starting with the numbers it is clear what the mayor is doing amounts to mental masturbation. There is no mathematical way that the City of Chicago can afford to entice the team into remaining in Chicago. For starters, the City is mired in debt.
There is the $640 million still owed on the Soldier Field renovations of two-plus decades ago. Then there is the approximate $100 million budget shortfall for the upcoming fiscal year. Along with those two is the $35 billion (yes billion with a b) that the city owes four pension funds. Given his background, Warren probably is better versed in the details of all of this debt than Johnson.
Those numbers paint a pretty clear picture that the City of Chicago doesn’t have the financial wherewithal to generate the minimum $900 million to build a new stadium for the team. That estimate is on the low end.
SoFi Stadium, home of the L.A. Rams and Chargers cost $5 billion to construct. There are four other stadia that ran up $1 billion-plus construction costs. With its current burden of debt the City obviously can’t reach out to the bond market for such money. Toss in the fact that the Bears maintain they want an adjacent entertainment venue at a new stadium and the costs increase expoentially.
The fact the team committed nearly $200 million to buy the former Arlington Park Race Track tips the scale in favor of leaving the city.
A second renovation of the Bears’ current home is not practical given the age of its infrastructure. It is the oldest stadium in the NFL. It was built in 1924. Its current capacity of 65,000 seats means it is too small for the 70,000-seat minimum to host a Super Bowl.
Then there is the emotional factor
Even when the news of the possible move was merely a rumor ardent Bears fans were giving countless reasons for the team to stay here. In most cases, their arguments rested on emotions pointing out things like when they were boys their fathers took them to their first Bears games, or how often they tailgate at Soldier Field and how energizing that camraderie is. What was probably the most frequent and well as least rational argument was the team would be called the Arlington Heights Bears.
This one was baseless as well as humorous. The Dallas Cowboys, for instance, don’t play in that city. Their stadium is in Irvine Texas. The New York Giants’ home field is in East Rutherford, N.J. For decades, the Detroit Lions had its home field in Pontiac, MI. The Buffalo Bills call Orchard Park, NY home; and the Dolphins are located just outside of that city in Miami Gardens, FL.
Many other teams crying the moniker of the state where they are located, rather than a particular city. The team names are portable so the panic for the Bears losing their Chicago identity was unfounded from the beginning.
Other than to continue with his “look at me” mayoral posture, there really is no reason for the mayor to be the public face in discussions with the Bears. Team officials have acknowledged on a few occassions that they have a lease at Solider Field until 2033; and if they choose to break the lease Chicago will be compensated more than $6.4 million per year for every year short of 2033.
Regardless of what his campaign platform included, Johnson has an overarching responsibilty to attempt to provide a solvent, safe and stable city. The Bears negotiations fall way outside of that mandate, and at best should be put on the back burner.