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Cook County commissioner Monica Gordon has revealed that she has invited the Chicago Bears NFL team to consider building a new stadium in Country Club Hills, a suburb located south of Chicago.
The Bears have been considering building a new stadium at Arlington International Racecourse and commenced demolition work on the site at the end of May. However, the following week, the team revealed that the site was no longer its singular focus for a potential new stadium, with talks being held with officials in the neighbouring city of Naperville.
Soldier Field (pictured), the Bears’ current home, opened in 1924 and underwent a $690m (£570m/€655m) renovation project in 2002. With a capacity of 61,500, it is the smallest stadium in the NFL and the Bears’ lease deal is due to run until 2033, although the team could break the agreement for $84m as of 2026.
The City of Chicago is trying to keep the Bears at Soldier Field. Landmark Development, which is working with the city on a proposed revamp of Soldier Field, in January released more details of its domed vision for the stadium as part of plans to keep the Bears at the venue.
Should the Bears press on with plans to move to a new stadium, Country Club Hills could be a potential location after Gordon approached the team last month.
“In September, I sent a letter to Chicago Bears’ matriarch Virginia McCaskey and (president Kevin) Warren inviting them to consider a site in Country Club Hills,” Gordon said in a statement reported by NBC Sports Chicago.
“Mayor James Ford and I also are imploring the team to look at the south suburbs as an opportunity to have a positive economic impact on a part of the Chicagoland area that is ignored all too often.”
In her letter, Gordon mentioned SoFi Stadium, the home of the Los Angeles Rams and Chargers which opened in 2020, as a blueprint for “transforming a predominantly Black area into a thriving residential, business and entertainment district”. No specific site in Country Club Hills was put forward by Gordon.
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