LAS VEGAS, NV - FEBRUARY 5: George Kittle #85 of the San Francisco 49ers speaks with the media during Super Bowl LVIII Opening Night at Allegiant Stadium on February 5, 2024 in Las Vegas, NV. (Photo by Perry Knotts/Getty Images)
Reports from Shane Riordan of 670 The Score surfaced a few months ago, stating that the Bears were investigating the possibility of building their new stadium on Soldier Field’s South Lot.
According to Crain’s Chicago Business on Friday, the South Lot isn’t a ploy to ease the Bears’ continuing disagreements over their Arlington Heights property tax problems. The organization’s “real goal” at this point is to build a stadium on the Soldier Field South Lot.
“Building in the central area is not just a lever to extract better tax terms from Arlington Heights, but the real goal,” Greg Hinz reported for The Washington Post, “though this game is far from over.”
It’s still unclear when the Bears will start construction on a new stadium. As the Bears continue to work on their long-term plans, president and CEO Kevin Warren stated during the team’s end-of-season press conference that deciding on the team’s next home is one of the most important short-term tasks. However, it involves more than just location selection.
Warren stated, “Anytime you have 326 acres, you can do more,” alluding to the Arlington Heights land the Bears currently possess.
The property tax bill for the Chicago Bears is still up for negotiation. However, testimony at a hearing on the dispute in January indicates that the team and the surrounding school districts are still $100 million apart in their valuations of the site, so the future of an Arlington Heights stadium development is still up in the air.
At a Cook County Board of Review hearing, the team’s attorney contended that because of the work done to demolish the existing structures on the site, the property should be valued at $60 million and taxed at the 10% rate for residential and vacant land rather than the 25% tax rate for commercial properties.
The Bears’ attorney claimed the team filed two assessments of the property, one valued at $60 million and the other at $71 million, and that the assessor’s office had exaggerated the land’s worth in comparison to comparable sales in the neighborhood.
Three nearby school districts, whose finances come from property taxes, got involved in the Bears’ appeal. According to an appraisal submitted by the schools, the site is worth $160 million, leaving a
“I am aware that there has been outreach, and we should ensure that we carry on that conversation,” stated Warren. “Once more, this is just a drawn-out procedure. Thus, I have a suspicion that our attorneys and their attorneys will continue to communicate at some point in the very near future. As a result, our interactions with the districts have always been respectful.”
Right now, it seems like there is too much of a tax gap to overcome. Although the Bears paid a high price of approximately $200 million for the land, neither party has reduced their tax assessments to the point where they think a solution is possible.
Warren extolled the virtues of Chicago and hasn’t ruled out keeping the Bears in the city. After holding several meetings, he and Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson jointly released two statements summarizing the fruitful nature of their discussions.
Ultimately, Warren stated unequivocally that the Bears’ completed stadium design needs to balance the budget.
Warren stated, “You can’t enter into these decisions haphazardly and kind of decide as you go.” “I believe that being very deliberate is the key to it.”
