Bears’ George McCaskey: New stadium ‘our 100-year opportunity’

Chairman George McCaskey didn’t always believe the Bears needed a home of their own.

Now, he says it’s time.

“I would compare it to a homeowner that rents for year after year after year,” McCaskey said Friday at Halas Hall. “I mean, there are advantages to that — but there are some significant disadvantages to that also.”

The Bears do rent — from the Chicago Park District — and their disadvantages at Soldier Field include playing in one of the NFL’s smallest stadiums, which is outclassed by the amenities of most modern stadiums. They see the advantage in building a domed stadium on the site of the former Arlington International Racecourse, for which they signed a $197.2 million purchase agreement last year and remain in escrow. The price to build on the 326-acre mixed-use site could reach $5 billion.

McCaskey tried to shape the search for land as the Bears’ manifest destiny, noting that when his grandfather, franchise founder George Halas, took the team from Wrigley Field to Soldier Field in 1971, it was supposed to be temporary.

“In each of those situations, the building had been designed and built primarily for other events or another team,” McCaskey said. “This is our 100-year opportunity to design it for us.”

A stadium has yet to be designed, but the Bears presented rough plans for the site to Arlington Heights residents Thursday night. The project could take 10 years or longer, president and CEO Ted Phillips said Friday, although the stadium likely would be finished sooner.

“It’s a massive challenge,” Phillips said.

The Bears are expected to close escrow on the land by the time Phillips retires Feb. 28. The project will be a big component of his successor’s job, Phillips said — “assuming we close, assuming we develop it.” To help ease the transition, the Bears could bring in Phillips’ successor before he retires.

Until then, they are, by contract with seller Churchill Downs, not allowed to explore building on any other property, including making fundamental changes to Soldier Field.

In July, Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot laid out three proposals for enclosing the lakefront stadium with a dome. She called McCaskey shortly before the Arlington Heights announcement.

“We had a good conversation,” McCaskey said. “I have all the respect in the world for Mayor Lightfoot.”

The Bears could not, however, discuss the Soldier Field remodeling plans.

“When they outline that publicly, we haven’t seen any of the details, because we told them we weren’t engaging in those discussions,” Phillips said.

The Bears can re-engage after their land deal closes, although McCaskey said “our singular focus” remains on the Arlington Heights site. Their lease at Soldier Field runs through 2033. They can break it early, but if they left in 2026, they’d have to pay almost $90 million. The price goes down the longer they stay downtown.

McCaskey said the Bears don’t know exactly how they’d compensate fans with personal seat licenses at Soldier Field, but he said they’d “come up with a plan that we hope will be beneficial [to them].”

Meanwhile, the Bears say they’re seeking public money not for the Arlington Heights stadium but for costs associated with development. Asked what the biggest challenges were in landing public funds, McCaskey demurred.

“Before we get to that, we have to determine whether we’re going to be able to close on the land,” he said. “So we’re continuing our financial analysis. It’s not complete yet. But the focus in the short term is the property.”