The Bears will eventually get a new stadium in the Chicago area. Where that lies remains to be seen.
With efforts to build a replacement for downtown’s lakefront Soldier Field stalled, Arlington Heights is hoping to get back into the mix.
The biggest impediment came from property tax issues related to property purchased by the Bears for the purpose of building a new facility. Now, through Arlington Heights daily heraldthe Bears received and responded to a proposed agreement of Arlington Heights regarding the pending tax issue.
Since last year, the Bears were offering $4.3 million and the city wanted $7.9 million. (Per year, presumably.)
“We’ve worked hard to come to an agreement with the school districts that I think the Bears can feel comfortable with, and that’s been communicated to the Bears, and that’s what we’re discussing right now,” said Arlington Heights Mayor Tom Hayes. O Daily Herald. “So I feel very comfortable that if the Bears re-engage with us and continue to explore the Arlington Park site, the path will be much easier than we have discovered over the last few months.”
Officially, the Bears say they are focused on the lakefront option. Team president Kevin Warren, however, said the team is not yet ready to put the Arlington Heights property up for sale.
So as long as the Bears own the site, the Bears could end up building a stadium there.
