With the NFL Draft just days away, the Chicago Bears figure to be pivotal to the process during Thursday night’s first round, holding the first and ninth overall picks.
It remains to be seen what the Bears will do at the draft, but it’s not the only thing on the team’s agenda this week.
On Wednesday, the Bears will be holding a news conference to discuss plans to build a new stadium on Chicago’s lakefront, the team announced in a news release Monday afternoon.
WGN Radio’s Kevin Powell shared the release, shown below, on X.
The #Bears will hold a press conference on Wednesday to announce plans for a new publicly owned stadium on the lakefront: pic.twitter.com/wW28nYtQlq
— Kevin Powell (@kpowell720) April 22, 2024
The Bears have been exploring a new stadium for the past couple of years, purchasing the 320-acre former site of Arlington Park in February of 2023 and demolishing the existing horse racing track to build a new stadium, but tax disputes and other financial headaches have plagued the new site for the past 14 months causing the Bears to shift their focus back elsewhere.
Or, are they? Would the Bears really spend nearly a quarter of a billion dollars on a potential stadium site, just to turn around and not use it?
Danny Parkins, 670 The Score host and recent Awful Announcing Podcast guest broke down the situation Monday afternoon shortly after the announcement was made.
.@DannyParkins has long thought the Bears would end up in Arlington Heights, but now the team is set to hold a press conference Wednesday to announce more details for a stadium proposal along the lakefront.
Parkins broke down what it means.
Listen: https://t.co/AOlQsw0Vgq pic.twitter.com/bv7uhVZX1p
— 670 The Score (@670TheScore) April 22, 2024
“This would be a very public bluff,” Parkins said. “One by one, [team president] Kevin Warren has been convincing journalists that he’s serious about downtown, and that is good poker. That is what he’s supposed to be doing to help out with the property tax situation in Arlington Heights,” he added.
While the release doesn’t say Chicago mayor Brandon Johnson will be on hand, it does say, “city officials and stakeholders” which Parkins took note of.
“If they are doing a press conference at Soldier Field with the mayor, it would look terrible for the mayor to have that dog and pony show happen and then still go to Arlington Heights. A terrible look.”
The whole situation is arguably already a terrible look, as the Bears spent nearly $200 million on the Arlington Heights property and have argued for months that it’s not worth as much as they paid for it in an effort to get a tax break from the city.
One way or another, Wednesday should provide much more clarity on the situation.
