Chicago Bears’ stadium move remains at an impasse as lawmakers want impact studies — and team wants legislation – The Denver Post

Two of Arlington Heights’ Democratic state lawmakers wanted to talk about full-day kindergarten and affordable housing, but a good chunk of the people who attended a town hall meeting Thursday wanted to hear about one thing: the Chicago Bears’ proposed move to the suburbs.

Residents asked a series of questions: When will a Bears bill pass in Springfield? What else would be a good option? Would Amazon be a better neighbor?

“Any legislation is a bit premature,” state Rep. Mary Beth Canty said. “Without the impact studies … we’re just not going to have concrete numbers.”

The Bears have purchased the Arlington International Racecourse property with the intent of building a new stadium on the site. But last week, team officials said plans to move to Arlington Heights are “at risk.” Team president Kevin Warren met with Naperville Mayor Scott Wehrli about a possible move to that city and later with Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson to discuss their “shared … commitment to Chicago,” home to Soldier Field, where the team has played for the past half-century.

Any solution for a move to Arlington Heights must benefit not just the municipality, but all taxing bodies and the community, which can be frozen out of typical tax break deals, state Sen. Ann Gillespie said.

She brought up one proposal for Sofi Stadium near Los Angeles, which would have had the developer pay for all the infrastructure, with the first $25 million in property tax revenues on the site to go to the community, and above that to reimburse the developer, so taxpayers wouldn’t have to lay out money up front.

Gillespie had introduced but did not push a bill creating a Payment in Lieu of Taxes, or PILOT, in which property taxes would be negotiated between the team and taxing bodies like school districts.

Canty noted that she’s not a Bears fan — she went to a dinner with ex-Bears star Mike Singletary and didn’t know who he was.

“I’m going to treat them like anybody else negotiating a deal,” she said. “They are a business in our community. I want businesses in our community to thrive.”

Gillespie said she is a Bears fan.

“But I want to see the property developed in a way that’s fair to the taxpayer and our schools, libraries, parks, and municipalities,” she said.

In the one comment that drew applause from the crowd of about 100, many of them older, she said, “I’m fine if the Bears come, but I’m not going to bend over backwards to make a deal that makes them happy if it’s not good for the community.”

The Bears presented a preliminary traffic study last year, when they initially proposed their plan to build a $5 billion complex with a stadium, entertainment district and housing complex at the former Arlington International Racecourse.

The team also offered economic projections that the project would generate a $9 billion impact, with nearly $4 billion in overall labor income, with 48,000 jobs, almost 10,000 of them “long-term” positions; and $16 million in annual tax revenue.

Last fall, the village approved a $118,000 contract for an economic impact study, and $85,000 to analyze transportation effects. The costs were to be paid for by the Bears, out of an escrow account of more than $200,000.

But the studies have not been forthcoming while the team has been pursuing legislation to set financial conditions for the development. The team says it can’t come up with detailed projections without certainty over its taxes and public subsidies for infrastructure like roads and utilities.

But team officials are frustrated by the Cook County assessor’s massive recent property tax assessment hike on the property, and hope to pass legislation so they can negotiate the team’s property tax.

Gillespie and Canty said they would continue conversations over the summer to take up Bears legislation in the fall.

One fan attending the meeting left early after hearing no signs of progress. Matt Mills, of Arlington Heights, wore a team jersey and “Bear down” hat to the meeting.

“The Bears moving in would be amazing,” he said. “But there weren’t a lot of details.”

Three other members of the local Bears booster club Touchdown Arlington said they were frustrated by lawmakers’ lack of support for the move.

There was great support for the idea among residents, attorney Ernie Rose said, but they need action from Springfield.

In contrast, Arlington Heights resident Linda Peters felt the lawmakers were keeping their options open.

“They were being reasonable,” she said, “and considering all aspects of the issue.”

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