Bears' Arlington Park Plan: Three Takeaways From Community Meeting

What we learned about Bears' Arlington Park plan at stadium meeting originally appeared on NBC Sports Chicago

ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill. – The Bears held their first informational community meeting about their exploration into developing Arlington Park into a multi-use property anchored by a new NFL stadium on Thursday.

Bears chairman George McCaskey, CEO Ted Phillips, senior vice president of marketing Scott Hagel, and senior vice president of diversity, equity, and inclusion Tanesha Wade all spoke at John Hersey High School to present the preliminary vision.

The group was also joined by members of Hart Howerton, the master planner on the project, to break down the vision.

The meeting lasted for two hours, with the final 30 seeing Phillips, McCaskey, and others answer pre-submitted questions from residents of Arlington Heights and the surrounding areas.

The Bears did not discuss specifics about the stadium. The Bears' contingent kept stating how early in the process the plan was and that the purpose of the meeting was to discuss the use of the 326-acre plot, not just the stadium.

Still, there were a few takeaways from the first of what was likely many community meetings around the Bears' plan:

A grand vision

McCaskey was the first to speak at the meeting Thursday.

McCaskey noted that the Bears felt the chance to purchase and develop the Arlington Park property was a "once in a lifetime opportunity." McCaskey said George Halas eyed the same land for a permanent home for the Bears back in the 1970s, but that vision was never able to come together.

McCaskey reiterated that the Bears would not ask for any public funding for the stadium construction. The Bears made sure to mention numerous times over the two-hour meeting that almost all recently built stadiums received some public funds, but they would not ask for any.

In the same breath, McCaskey noted that economics is the  "largest hurdle" to the project, should the Bears go forward with purchase and development. McCaskey said the plan could take up to 10 years to complete, and the project would not get done without the public's help.

"We will need help," McCaskey said. "There are broad, long-term public benefits of this project, and we look forward to partnering with various governmental bodies to secure additional funding and assistance needed to support development of the remainder of the site. How much or what form this will take we do not know at this time.

"But we do know that without infrastructure support and property tax certainty, the project as described to you tonight will not be able to move forward."

As for the public funding, Phillips was clear that no public money would go toward constructing any buildings. The Bears are asking for public help with infrastructure such as sewers. No buildings will be constructed with any public funds.

So … about the stadium

Stadium talk was very, very limited Thursday.

However, Phillips did discuss a few nuggets about the Bears' road ahead.

The main point of Phillips' section was that the Bears are scheduled to close on the Arlington Park property either in late 2022 or early 2023. As previously stated, the Bears will not explore alternative stadium sites, including renovations to Soldier Field, while under contract with Churchill Downs.

Phillips said the Bears' goal for the stadium would be to give fans a "first class" experience. While not getting into specifics, Phillips noted during the Q&A portion that once built, the stadium should last for 20 to 30 years. Once again, the Bears are adamant these are early projections, and they aren't far down the line on any stadium architecture.

However, Phillips did discuss the issue of whether the new stadium would be enclosed.

Should this plan proceed and be completed, there will be no more Bear Weather.

Phillips said the stadium would be fully enclosed, and a retractable roof would not be in the cards. The Bears have done their homework on retractable roofs and believe the costs are "prohibitive" and "the return isn't there." Phillips used U.S. Bank Stadium in Minnesota as an example of a fully enclosed stadium that makes you feel like you're outside even though it's enclosed.

Why enclosed and not open?

"It hopefully can attract major events like the Super Bowl, College Football Playoff, concerts, Final Four. We don't have a facility like that now," Phillips said.

When asked if there were plans to build a casino on the property, Phillips gave a definitive "no."

There was talk about the parking at this proposed stadium, which isn't really a fleshed-out idea at the moment.

"There will be more parking than at Soldier Field," Phillips said numerous times Thursday. The presentation also highlighted areas designated for tailgating. There will be areas for those who drive to the game and those who take the Metra or other modes of transit to the stadium. The Bears' constant message was delivering a "first class" experience is paramount.

Like McCaskey before him, Phillips was sure to note that the Bears believe the stadium will "unleash significant economic and tax benefits" for Chicagoland with the stadium as the anchor.

But what if the Bears' Arlington Park plan falls apart? What's Plan B?

"Right now, we don't have a Plan B," Phillips said. "Our singular focus is on this property."

In a meeting full of vague answers, McCaskey was adamant about the idea of incorporating the history of the racetrack into the stadium architecture.

"Yes, and hell yes," McCaskey said.

As for the construction of the stadium district and the multi-use area, the Bears want to work with everyone to make it happen.

Wade also discussed how the Arlington Park project is committed to meeting Minority & Women Business Enterprise goals. That includes working with a minority-owned law firm and women and minority-owned communications firm.

Layout

The two partners from Hart Howerton gave a lengthy breakdown of how they see the development of the 326-acre plot of land.

Hart Howerton is the same firm that developed Sofi Stadium and the surrounding Hollywood Park area, which was also once a racetrack.

The presentation noted that the plot of land is almost big enough to fit Grant and Millennium Park inside it.

So, what's the plan?

The reps from Hart Howerton harped on the development being "transit-oriented," and broke down the early vision into five parts.

The early vision is to have the stadium district on the Northwest part of the plot with a bridge leading from the stadium district to the multi-use area via a stadium threshold. The stadium threshold could be anchored by a hotel, performance venues, active uses of retail like "Bears Fit," and a central green space on the other side of the bridge.

On the Eastern end of the development will be Station Square which will have entertainment and retail uses with "ample area for outdoor eating and café spill out." This vision is for this to be an area fans will go before and after games. Within a five-minute walk from this area will be retail, residential, hotel, transit, and central green space with views of downtown Chicago, a lake, and the stadium to the west.

The Southeast corner of the plot is envisioned to have a residential area with smaller multi-family buildings and townhome residences with neighborhood parks, places to bring your pets, and landscaped ponds.

The South entrance to the development will be enhanced with a "linear park" that runs alongside ponds that flow into the lake. The early illustrations of the area aim to treat the southern/central portion of the development as a recreational opportunity, perhaps with a boathouse and the ability to kayak on the lake.

Rounding out the lower part of the lake would be lower-density residential buildings with businesses on the ground floor.

The vision, as it stands now, is to have the entire development connected by landscape (trails, ponds, parks, etc.), with the stadium serving as the anchor for the development.

There will be many more meetings before this vision becomes something more than the brainchild of the Bears and their development partners.

But for a plan that is supposedly in the very early stages, there sure were a lot of details.

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