CHICAGO — Two years ago, in the third episode of “Hard Knocks,” Chicago Bears brass huddled around a conference-room table inside Halas Hall, discussing suite furniture for their new stadium.
“We have a couple decisions we need to make, and this is something we just had good conversations with Lil Durk on,” said Karen Murphy, executive vice president of stadium development and chief operating officer.
Lil Durk is Chicago-based rapper Durk Banks, who was prominently featured in the episode.
“In these field suites, do we want fixed seats or do we want high-tops with movable chairs?” asked Tanya Dreesen, senior vice president of strategy and global affairs and chief of staff.
“You could have some of these movable chairs in the back,” President/CEO Kevin Warren said. “I just think it gives it more class and kind of panache by having fixed seats.”
Panache?
How about progress?
So much has transpired since Bears officials engaged in such bold rhetoric. Banks was arrested on federal murder-for-hire charges that still are pending. Coach Matt Eberflus left timeouts in his pocket on Thanksgiving in Detroit and was fired the next day. Ben Johnson was hired as his replacement, and the Bears stormed to the NFC North title in his first season, then won a playoff game for the first time since January 2011. On the field, things are looking up for the franchise.
On Thursday, Warren and Chairman George McCaskey revealed there’s still not a lot of progress to report on the stadium quest, although presumably they’ve decided on some spiffy accoutrements for those suites.
Warren doubled down on the team’s commitment to pursuing a new stadium in Hammond, where the Bears have finished vetting the Lost Marsh Golf Course area and continue to do work in the area of Wolf Lake Terminals. He floated the idea that the two sites could be merged for the stadium and entertainment district the team envisions.
Basically, the Bears backed up two months later their June 5 announcement that their board of directors had voted to proceed with plans for a stadium in Hammond. That came shortly after the Illinois legislature adjourned following a last-second effort to push through a bill that would support a stadium project in Arlington Heights.
Warren and McCaskey said contact in the interim with folks in Illinois has been “minimal,” and it’s clear by now that lawmakers are unlikely to hold a special session this summer to address anything on the stadium front.
“I don’t know why it hit a dead end in Springfield, but we’ve been very clear the last couple years the things that we’ve always needed is property tax certainty, we need infrastructure certainty,” Warren said. “That’s what we’ve needed. So that has not changed. There’s some other things associated with it, but I don’t know why Springfield … has hit a snag.
“One of the good things about what we’ve had is since we did have the board decision, we have really focused on Indiana. That’s where our time and energy and effort has been spent, and we’ve had extremely productive meetings there and feel really good what’s going on with the state of Indiana, specifically Hammond.”
The Illinois General Assembly will hold its fall veto session over two three-day periods — Nov. 17–19 and Dec. 1–3 — and whether the Bears will string along Indiana with the hope of kick-starting momentum for Arlington Heights remains to be seen. Asked if that was feasible, Warren cited mounting construction costs, having previously said the price goes up $150 million with each year they wait.
It’s a good thing the Bears have done their homework on costs associated with that industry, because otherwise there would be some real sticker shock if they based estimates on what they started with way back when they first considered the possibility of buying Arlington Park and then closed the deal.
“We just looked at the financial numbers last week, and you compare to where it was last year, these are real issues,” Warren said. “You notice the market is very uncertain, and so it’s not only the political and the legislative decisions that we have to make, it’s the financial decisions that we have to make. And we have a family who’s committed sizable resources — $2 billion out of their personal money out of the organization — to build the stadium, and so that’s why it’s really important from a time standpoint.
“We’re reaching that point where we have to make a determination and decision.”
Warren pushed back on the idea the Bears have had missteps over the last four years or so.
“I don’t think we’ve made any mistakes,” he said. “As you study these projects, I really look at these as learning opportunities to come together.”
OK, so we’ll call hitching the team’s wagon to embattled Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson for a lakefront stadium a learning opportunity: Don’t count on an inept politician to help bring your multibillion-dollar project to life. Lesson learned.
if you’re one of the Bears fans who isn’t warm to the idea of the team moving its home games across state lines, McCaskey has heard you loud and clear.
“We feel that anxiety,” he said. “We feel that stress. It’s going to require an adjustment. But when I’ve driven that route, other than a sign telling me so, I wouldn’t know that I’ve just crossed the state border.
“As Kevin said, once people see the building, once they get in there, once they understand that our top priority from day one was a world-class stadium experience, we think we’ll make that adjustment. We think Bears fans are up for that.”
The Bears are full speed ahead on the Hammond plan. They were in the same lane back in February, when things really got rolling with the Indiana government. Then they pivoted back to Arlington Heights in the spring and tried to finalize legislation.
We’ll have to wait until the much-discussed due diligence at Wolf Lake Terminals is finalized before we learn what the next move is. There’s no timeline.
“My wife told me about six months ago, don’t give any more target dates,” Warren said. “Just get the work done. Greta, I love you and I’m listening to you.”
There’s some evidence Warren was able to read the room. It was at the NFL owners meeting in March that he predicted a decision on the stadium location could come in late spring or early summer.
Here we are in the dog days of summer. The Bears start their preseason schedule Saturday, and the regular season will be here in a flash. That excites everyone because the franchise at least has made progress on the field.