Baltimore is offering to give Bears President Michael
McCaskey, or any other NFL owner, a $200M open-air, natural
grass, football-only stadium rent free, according to Jim Ritter
in the CHICAGO SUN-TIMES. Maryland Stadium Authority Chair John
Moag: "All an owner has to do is sign a lease. It's the best
deal out there." If McCaskey is interested, the state of
Maryland would buy a $40M spot of land next to Camden Yards and
build the team a $160M stadium. The 70,000-seat stadium would
have 108 skyboxes and 7,500 club seats. Moag said the facility
would be funded by lottery revenues and a 10% admission tax. The
owner's only expense would be maintenance. A spokesperson for
Chicago Mayor Richard Daley dismissed the report: "The last time
Baltimore had a team, they weren't filling it to capacity"
(CHICAGO SUN TIMES, 8/14). Baltimore is not the only city
interested in the Bears, as McCaskey said Friday he has received
phone calls from "several cities" outside IL, according to
Charles Nicodemus of the SUN-TIMES. Daley responded that if the
Bears aren't happy in Chicago -- "the greatest sports town in
America" -- they can "move to Alaska or Hawaii" (CHICAGO SUN-
TIMES, 8/12).
