As Bears begin demolition at Arlington race track, Mayor Johnson must focus on Soldier Field’s future

The demolition sounds coming from Arlington International Racecourse this week are another reminder that the historic facility has seen its day.

The same could be said for any lingering notions in City Hall that the Chicago Bears — which seeks to raze the grandstands and track and replace them with a stadium and entertainment district — will actually remain at Soldier Field once the team’s lease there ends in 2033.

That means it’s time for Mayor Brandon Johnson to do what his predecessor on the Fifth Floor either couldn’t or wouldn’t: Figure out a future for Soldier Field that does not include the Bears.

We can only hope that’s what’s happening, but we’re not sure because a spokesperson didn’t respond to our inquiry.

So all we’re left with is Johnson’s comments in April on the Mully & Haugh Show on sports radio 670 The Score.

“I’m not going to accept inevitability, and I’ve asked ownership to give me an opportunity to be able to assess, and then we can make a collective determination together,” Johnson said.

But as workers begin demolishing the interiors at Arlington International as a prelude to seeking approval from Arlington Heights and Cook County governments to clear the entire 326-acre site, it should be clear to Johnson that a certain inevitability is setting in.

Change is ‘necessary’

The Bears earlier this year closed on a $197 million deal to buy the racetrack.

And although the team’s plan to buy the site had been public for several months, then-Mayor Lori Lightfoot unveiled an elaborate $2 billion design scheme aimed at renovating Soldier Field and topping it with a dome in a bid to keep the team there.

But the Bears were unmoved.

“Change is difficult at times, but change is necessary at times,” Bears chairman George McCaskey said at the NFL’s annual meeting in March about the team’s planned move.

The Bears new stadium plan isn’t quite a cinch, at least not in its current form. The mayors of nearby Rolling Meadows and Palatine object to the proposal, claiming it could saddle taxpayers with more than $1 billion in infrastructure improvements alone.

Frankly, this editorial board believes the team should build its complex without dipping its hands into the public trough in any way. That also includes a bill by State Rep. Marty Moylan, D-Des Plaines, that would freeze property tax assessments on the stadium for 40 years.

But that’s another editorial.

Still, Johnson and the city should prepare for the eventuality that these obstacles can be overcome.

And Johnson would do himself no favors if he sticks to the position he held during the 670 The Score interview in April when he claimed he could keep the Bears in Chicago.

“The reason why I don’t ever accept inevitability — like I come from a family of 10,” he said. “We had one bathroom. I am the baddest negotiator in the world, and I mean bad in a good way.”

Johnson should move on, focusing on his worthy point about the benefit of seeing the stadium and Museum Campus as part of an ensemble.

“It’s a beautiful campus, and it’s an entire infrastructure that the city of Chicago has not fully tapped into,” he said. “I want to make sure that the field, the museum, the entire campus is used in a way that speaks to our excellence.”

That’s the best stance to guide his next steps, which should begin with punting on any attempt to expensively revamp Soldier Field to keep the Bears — then starting the hard work of reimagining the stadium and improving the Museum Campus.

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