NFL fans ripped the Bears’ brazen proposal for a new publicly-funded stadium

With talks in Arlington Heights stalling, the Chicago Bears and team president Kevin Warren are taking a bold (and cowardly) new approach to trying to secure a new stadium they think they need.

According to a report from the Chicago Tribune, the Bears will unveil a proposal for a new stadium on the Chicago lakefront on Wednesday with a $4.6 billion price tag for development. The catch? They would like Chicago taxpayers to foot $2.3 billion, or roughly half of the massive bill. Never mind that Chicagoans still owe more than $600 million on the gaudy renovations to Soldier Field in 2003 that was rushed through the state legislature in two weeks. The Bears are also hoping taxpayers forget about the fact they would like to build this new stadium on a public park.

When considering the curious timing and the stalled negotiations with Arlington Heights, it seems pretty clear the Bears just expect everyone to roll out a red carpet for them. That arrogant presumptuousness should assuredly get them nowhere.

Sports economist J.C. Bradbury had a righteous take on the whole situation.

More from the Chicago Tribune:

“Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me,” Bradbury said to the Tribune. “The Bears aren’t going to leave one of the most iconic football markets in the country. Tell the Bears to pay for their own damn stadium, and if they don’t like it, to go jump in Lake Michigan.”

I can’t even begin to explain how this whole story makes my blood boil.

The Bears wanted to break ground in Arlington Heights, but didn’t like the property taxes on the development and expected more public funding. So, in likely trying to strong-arm the Chicago suburb (and the city of Chicago) for their demands, they are now announcing their plans for a new lakefront stadium approximately one day before the 2024 NFL Draft. That’s right. They are essentially using the prospect of drafting Caleb Williams at No. 1 overall to say “look who’s (maybe) about to change our franchise! The money for this stadium will be worth it. Trust us!” They couldn’t be more transparently impudent to the city and to their fans.

But this is where the Bears are wrong and where they will rightfully run into another roadblock.

Taxpayers should never be expected to foot any part of the bill for a new professional sports stadium. It is morally and ethically wrong to force people with regular bills and regular jobs to pay for what is essentially a shiny new and unnecessary entertainment complex. Always. Full stop. Sports are not that important to everyday life, and other aspects deserve much more priority and investment. The Bears are trying to take advantage of their cultural capital by threading a needle about their importance to the city of Chicago to get money they don’t even have themselves. Never mind that the city is accustomed to the embarrassing and disappointing product they put out on the football field for decades now.

For that reason, the Bears grossly overestimate how much power and influence they hold over the heart of the Midwest. They have zero leverage here.

Here’s a novel idea repeated because it is evergreen. If George McCaskey (and Warren, by extension) want a new stadium, he should pay for it out of his own damn pocket.