After "years of misadventures and months of
negotiation," the Bears and Chicago Mayor Richard Daley
yesterday announced a $587M deal to turn Soldier Field into
a "glitzy state-of-the-art" stadium for the 2003 season,
according to Washburn & Long in a front page report in the
CHICAGO TRIBUNE. The plan also "provides new amenities" for
the area around the stadium and money for "unspecified
future upgrades" at Comiskey Park. Washburn & Long write
that though no new taxes or state funds "would be needed" to
pay for the project, the state legislature "must pass a law
to empower" the IL Sports Facilities Authority to issue
$387M in new bonds and "permit the proceeds to be used" at
Soldier Field. Under the financing plan, $100M would come
from the Bears, another $100M from an NFL loan and the
remainder from the 30-year bonds, which would be retired
with proceeds of an existing 2% tax on hotel bills.
Additionally, the Bears would sign a 30-year lease at
Soldier Field. In return, the Bears "for the first time
would get" 100% of the revenue from suites, stadium
advertising and concessions on game days. Bears President
Ted Phillips also "disclosed" that the team "is seeking" a
corporate sponsor, whose name "would appear on the stadium
in some way." Meanwhile, Phillips said that in 2002, the
Bears would "explore playing" their home games at
Northwestern Univ., the Univ. of IL or the Univ. of Notre
Dame. Washburn & Long add that under the renovation plan,
PSLs will now "apply to about half" of the stadium's 63,000
seats. Also, the stadium will feature 133 suites and 8,600
club seats (CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 11/16). Phillips "refused to
divulge the price range" for the PSLs, but added that the
Bears will have to raise about $50M from revenue streams,
including PSLs, to meet its contribution. The other $50M
will come from a loan. In Chicago, Don Pierson writes that
the stadium design will feature all luxury suites and club
seats on the east side, and architects were "able to narrow
the footprint, thus bringing general admission seats on the
west side closer to the field" (CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 11/16).
Phillips said that he "anticipates no problem" in selling
PSLs. Phillips: "Every stadium that's ever had a PSL plan,
the initial reaction is outrage. But every plan, other than
the one in Oakland that was handled poorly, has had success
and has been a critical element of funding stadium
construction" (CHICAGO SUN-TIMES, 11/16). To see the Bears'
plan, visit http://www.chicagobears.com.
MORE FROM THE DEAL: In IL, Toomey & Patterson report
that the plan calls for underground parking garages with
"grass and trees atop" to create 19 acres of additional park
space to the north. Also "in the works" are seats that are
wider by two-to-three inches, a pair of 23-by-84-foot video
screens, a four-lane access road to the east of the stadium,
and bathrooms that will "lower the fan-to-toilet ratio" from
about 150-1 to 70-1 (IL DAILY HERALD, 11/16). In Chicago,
TRIBUNE architecture critic Blair Kamin writes that because
Soldier Field "is such a familiar Chicago landmark, the
strikingly contemporary" design will "undoubtedly draw as
many boos" as the Bears have received this season. Kamin:
"Yet it would be wrong to dismiss the wide-ranging proposal,
especially because it promises to transform Soldier Field
from a stadium in a parking lot to a stadium in a park"
(CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 11/16). Also in Chicago, David Mendell
writes, "From a so-called McDome along the lakefront to a
fleeting plan to move the team to Gary [IN], perhaps no
Chicago drama has lasted longer and seen more proposals
floated, shot down and die than the matter of finding a
long-term home for the Chicago Bears" (CHI. TRIBUNE, 11/16).
WHITE SOX BENEFIT TOO: As part of the IL Sports
Facilities Authority appropriations, the White Sox will also
receive funds toward the renovations at Comiskey Park. The
renovations could include "changes to its steep, heavily
criticized" upper deck and even a new deck in right field.
White Sox Exec VP Howard Pizer said that the money "already
had been earmarked" for the team, and added it was not
"found money" (DAILY SOUTHTOWN, 11/16).
