Bears’ $2.3 billion stadium request has fans ticked off

The stadium itself will cost $3.2 billion with another $1.4 billion in infrastructure improvements. Taxpayers still owe $629 million on improvements made at Soldier Field. The new plan in place is projected to take around 40 years to pay off.

Ultimately, Chicago has been working with Illinois’ government to find a financial and geographical location that works. The proposed site has come into question as well due to it being a lakefront stadium. The Bears must work to find a financial plan that works and get approval from the state to build the stadium.

Joe Ferguson, president of the Civic Foundation, has been well aware of the ongoing stadium proposals and how they’re affecting taxpayers. He knows no one wants the Bears to leave Chicago. However, he says there first must be a plan in place that works for the team, state and taxpayers.

“Everybody wants to keep the teams (in the city), the question is on what terms?” Ferguson asked. “There’s not a lot of information necessary to say one of these (plans) is actually viable, or whether it’s a way to take us to the cleaners when we’re already carrying hundreds of millions of dollars of debt for the last time we did something like this.”

“I think Gov. (J.B) Pitzker has spoken to this exactly right, with a real wariness about public funding of sports stadiums,” Ferguson continued. “We need to see reliable, thorough revenue projections for this before we can even open the conversation.”

Much more will be known about the Bears’ stadium plans after their press conference. However, taxpayers being forced to $2.3 billion has already become a major sticking point with fans.

Bears hoping new stadium leads to better results 

Chicago was careful to plan out the announcement of their new stadium. With the NFL Draft taking place a day later, all Bears fans will have their eyes glued to the screen to see who the Bears will take. Perhaps that’ll be enough to distract from the new $2.3 billion owed.

As they watch, those fans should be prepared to hear Caleb Williams’ name called. While nothing is set in stone, he is far and away the consensus favorite to go No. 1 overall. A former Heisman Trophy winner, Williams threw for 10,082 yards, 93 touchdowns and 14 interceptions.

But the fun won’t stop there, as Chicago also holds the No. 9 overall pick in the draft. With still a few holes to fill, the Bears could go in numerous different routes with the selection.

Whoever they pick, the Bears are hoping they become fixtures in their new stadium for years to come. A team seemingly on the rise, Chicago fans will love seeing the team’s new offense with Williams under center. However, they won’t like the stadium price they’ll have to pay to see their favorite team in action.