CHICAGO (WGN) — First-time renderings revealed Friday show a potential third site for the new Chicago Bears stadium.
The new concepts, released by developer Farpoint, show a domed stadium with a land bridge over DuSable Lake Shore Drive, leading to Lake Michigan, at the former Michael Reese Hospital property in Bronzeville.
Farpoint founding principal Scott Goodman told the Chicago Sun Times that his decision to release the images publicly is a Hail Mary.
“We have proposed an opportunity for the Bears to explore our site, which is viable and where a stadium can fit. And it fits on the South Side of Chicago, bridging the gap to downtown,” Goodman said.
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New renderings of a domed Bears stadium at the Michael Reece Hospital site (Photo courtesy of Steve Patterson) -
New renderings of a domed Bears stadium at the Michael Reece Hospital site (Photo courtesy of Steve Patterson) -
New renderings of a domed Bears stadium at the Michael Reece Hospital site (Photo courtesy of Steve Patterson) -
New renderings of a domed Bears stadium at the Michael Reece Hospital site (Photo courtesy of Steve Patterson)
The Bears have not yet commented on the proposal.
In response to the proposed Bronzeville site, Arlington Heights Mayor Tom Hayes told WGN News, “If it didn’t come from the Bears, then I don’t put a whole lot of stock in it.”
Hayes maintained that he is confident that the organization will choose to build on the former Arlington Park site that the Bears purchased in February 2023 for nearly $200 million.
“I’m feeling better than I have in the last four years,” he added. “We’ve been working on this a long time.”
This month, the Village and the Bears indicated moving forward with their own traffic and economic impact studies. The step comes after both sides resolved property tax issues in December, despite Bears president and CEO Kevin Warren’s continued focus on his $3.2 billion plan for a new stadium just south of Soldier Field.
“I’ve said from Day 1 that I think the Arlington Park site is where they’re going to end up,” Hayes said.
Farpoint told WGN News that regardless of whether the Bears choose the site, they plan to make the location a premier, mixed-use development.
