Mayor Lori Lightfoot should consider renaming Soldier Field to raise money and “explore the feasibility” of enclosing the stadium with a dome or roof, a panel she appointed to study Chicago’s museum campus recommended.
Lightfoot formed a task force earlier this year to “reimagine the Museum Campus experience targeting year-round tourism and activation on the campus,”
The panel’s work marks Lightfoot’s attempt to keep the Chicago Bears, who are exploring a possible move to Arlington Heights, deflect blame if the venerable sports team leaves, and identify potential ways to improve a stretch of land that also includes the Adler Planetarium, the Field Museum, the Shedd Aquarium and the McCormick Place lakefront building.
Lightfoot’s panel recommends transforming Solidarity Drive into a year-round plaza, creating educational programs for kids and adding large-scale art to rejuvenate the campus. For the museum campus, it recommends improving CTA service and adding a trolley and improving traffic around the area.
But it’s the report’s recommendations involving Soldier Field that will draw the most attention.
“To better utilize Soldier Field year-round, the City should also explore the feasibility of enclosing the stadium. From May to December, Soldier Field is a lively, highly utilized venue. During this time, the stadium is estimated to host anywhere from 96,000-240,000 people each month. However, the arena’s usage is much lower from January to April when the weather limits use of the stadium’s outdoor areas,” the panel said.
“During these colder months, it is estimated that stadium attendance ranges from 1,200 to 66,800 people per month. Although an enclosed venue is unlikely to attract many more major concerts due to limited touring windows among other reasons, it would negate inconsistent weather conditions and allow Chicago to host coveted one-off events such as the Super Bowl and the NCAA Final Four Championship.”
The report stops short of recommending the roof, though, saying “further analysis is required to fully understand the specific costs, the potential direct and indirect economic impacts, and the full range of potential funding sources available to determine options that are respectful to Chicago taxpayers.”
It does note that the city should consider a sponsorship agreement with naming rights for Soldier Field, which was originally built as a war memorial. Sponsorship agreements at other stadiums, including SoFi Stadium in California and MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, have brought in $400 million each, the panel said. Other arenas — like the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans — show that you could keep “Soldier Field” in the name and continue respecting its legacy as a tribute to American soldiers while also bringing in revenue, the panel said.
The Bears signed a purchase agreement for Arlington International Racecourse last fall, creating a rigorous debate over whether the city should attempt to keep them and at what cost. Soldier Field, which is owned by the Chicago Park District, holds 61,500 fans, the smallest capacity in the NFL. One advantage for the Bears of moving to Arlington Heights is they would be able to develop the 326-acre property around the stadium with shopping, dining and entertainment.
While she tries to determine if it’s possible to keep the team in Chicago, the mayor also needs to prepare for a post-Bears future at the lakefront so she can present a forward-looking plan to try to defray the loss of revenue and civic prestige if they leave.
