Chicago Bears Stock For Fans? Alderman Says Let’s Do It
Most people agreed that once the Chicago Bears successfully acquired purchase rights to Arlington Racecourse International, the clock started ticking on their time at Soldier Field. All signs point to the organization building a brand new stadium complex on that property and leaving the city proper. This is something that has brewed steadily for several years. Only now did a true opportunity present itself.
Mayor Lori Lightfoot and other members of the Chicago political sphere aren’t happy about this. They feel the Bears belong in the city and it’s foolish for the McCaskey family to break a tradition that goes back many decades. The Bears haven’t played in the suburbs since they were the Decatur Staleys. They belong in Chicago. Unfortunately, the options available to prevent the team from leaving aren’t ideal.
So it appears certain people may look to take more drastic measures
The latest example is Alderman George Cardenas, the deputy City Council floor leader. He has a plan that nobody could’ve expected as real until he presented it to the Cook County Board of Review. The idea of the city outright purchasing the Bears from the McCaskey family. A sort of hybrid method that involved both a group of private investors and even casual fans who could buy stocks in the organization. According to Fran Spielman of the Chicago Sun-Times, Cardenas is serious about this and even trash-talked the McCaskeys during his comments.
“The city just acquired a casino. We need these assets to stay in the city. And we have to come up with a way to entice the Bears. If they don’t want to be here, let’s buy them out. I mean — they can’t manage this team. They haven’t managed this team [well] in decades,” Cardenas said of the 3-6 Bears.
“We can definitely find and have a group of investors, including the city, to be able to say, ‘We’ll take it off your hands. Let us do the hard work that needs to be done.’”
Cardenas’ resolution calls on the City Council’s Committee on Special Events, Cultural Affairs and Recreation to “convene a hearing” to authorize a “feasibility study on whether it is practical and advisable for the city to pursue the purchase of the Chicago Bears.”
Needless to say, plenty of people all but laughed at such an idea.
Sports marketing expert Marc Ganis called the idea “ludicrous.” Both because of the sheer red tape involved and also the fact it goes almost entirely against NFL rules when it comes to ownership. Longtime sportswriter Lester Munson dubbed it a “pipe dream” both because of the high price Chicago would have to pay ($4 billion) and also because it might actually be against the law. New legislation would be required from the state.
Alderman and Chicago must accept reality
There is only one way they’re keeping the team in the city. It’s the one thing they seem unwilling to do. That is build the franchise a new stadium within the city limits. A stadium that is up to the 21st century standards many NFL teams enjoy these days. Something that ceased to be the case with Soldier Field years ago. It is the smallest stadium in the league, continues to have issues with its turf, and is outdated technologically in almost every way.
When the Chicago Park District brushed off the idea of a sportsbook inside, that was the last straw. Two weeks later, the Bears put in their bid for Arlington Park. Now they are a few signed papers away from owning the property outright. Suddenly all the leverage the city has enjoyed for years is gone. Alderman Cardenas may feel like he has a method to pry the franchise away from the McCaskeys, but the truth is he’s grasping at straws. This feels like a political stunt. A way to save face, showing everybody that he and his boss are doing everything they can to keep the Bears in Chicago.