When asked whether they favor using public funds to finance
a new stadium to keep the Bears from moving out of state, 62% of
Chicago-area residents said no, 26% supported the idea and 13%
had no opinion, according to results of a CHICAGO TRIBUNE poll
published on Sunday's front page. The poll also found that there
is "almost no public support" for Bears President Michael
McCaskey's dream of a "suburban tax-financed stadium." The
TRIBUNE's Swanson & McRoberts report that "the only stadium
option that appears to have broad public support" is a
multipurpose domed stadium adjacent to Chicago's McCormick Place.
Other poll results: 44% favor a domed stadium, 41% an open-air
field, and 15% had no preference. 55% disapprove of how McCaskey
has handled the stadium issue, 12% approve, and 32% had no
opinion. The poll surveyed 600 "heads of households" in the
metro-Chicago area. Margin of error is +/- 4% (CHICAGO TRIBUNE,
8/27).
INDIANA BEARS? An out-of-state group has made a bid for the
Bears. During Thursday's Bears preseason game, a coalition of
Indiana business and political leaders made an offer to "consider
several land parcels" that meet the team's criteria of a location
within 20-30 miles from the Chicago Loop. The group claims
advantages including a favorable tax climate and a natural
surface playing field (Adrienne Drell, CHICAGO SUN-TIMES, 8/27).
But Sue Ellen Christian writes the plan "is long on concept and
short on details. There is no specific funding source, no
specific site and no funding mechanism" (CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 8/27).
