dll2000 Posted February 15, 2023 Share Posted February 15, 2023 For you out of towners when they actually start building I will drive by and take some pics at some point (when there are structures or frames up - when there is something worth photographing). It's about 30 minutes from me. 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Madmike90 Posted February 15, 2023 Share Posted February 15, 2023 5 minutes ago, dll2000 said: Property is bought. Funny they hedged a little on whether they were going to build. Sounds like leverage over permits etc. This is great news all round...the quicker we get that whole area developed the quicker we have the financial power to compete with any franchise in the NFL...can't wait to see what they have planned for the stadium itself. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dll2000 Posted February 15, 2023 Share Posted February 15, 2023 It is a bit of slight of hand for political purposes. There are two parts or halves to property development planned. The stadium and the entertainment district. They will forgo money for stadium, but are demanding money for entertainment district. They like being able to say, "We will take no public money for stadium." But they are still asking for public money for their project in toto. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AZBearsFan Posted February 16, 2023 Share Posted February 16, 2023 2 hours ago, Madmike90 said: This is great news all round...the quicker we get that whole area developed the quicker we have the financial power to compete with any franchise in the NFL...can't wait to see what they have planned for the stadium itself. Me either. Give me ALL of the stadium proposal videos. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blkwdw13 Posted February 16, 2023 Share Posted February 16, 2023 4 hours ago, dll2000 said: For you out of towners when they actually start building I will drive by and take some pics at some point (when there are structures or frames up - when there is something worth photographing). It's about 30 minutes from me. My grandma used to live just a couple blocks away from there, and my dad used to work in the business district on the other side of 53 there. 1 hour ago, AZBearsFan said: Me either. Give me ALL of the stadium proposal videos. Something like the YouTube series the Raiders did for their stadium would be awesome. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dll2000 Posted April 21, 2023 Share Posted April 21, 2023 Bears asking for money from state and local govt. to pay old debts and fund new stadium. Don’t believe anything different. Not sure why they even try to sell that. Just be honest. Now it may be a net revenue gain for govt. and very likely is. Sell it that way IMO. This was interesting: “I can tell you that no one from the village was consulted on the development of this bill, nor to our knowledge were any of the project stakeholders,” Recklaus wrote in a email. “The village is continuing to work with the Chicago Bears Football Club, our neighboring communities, area school districts, and all other stakeholders on the exploration of the development of the site to ensure that whatever is built there is in the best interest of the community and surrounding region.” That seems a bit of a ball drop to me - that is - if Bears were even involved. Maybe this is just a politician writing bills without talking to anyone, Bears or Arlington Heights. I don’t know. The Bears declined to comment on the latest proposal in Springfield but in the past have bristled at the idea that the team has any obligation to help retire debt related to the prior renovations of Soldier Field. Due to refinancing and years of primarily paying interest instead of principal, the debt ballooned from the original $399 million to $631 million. Whoops - me Chicago’s hotel tax was supposed to pay off the debt, but with the loss of business due to the COVID-19 pandemic and restrictions, the city was forced to pay $27 million toward the debt last year. Whoops again - me With annual payments rising to $90 million by 2032, there are doubts about whether the hotel tax will be enough to pay off the debt. Whoops a third time - ya think? In other news tourists have been publicly attacked recently in downtown Chicago and believe me, women in burbs are discussing and worried about that. That doesn’t help hotel taxes. - me If the Bears left their lease at Soldier Field early, say in 2026, they would owe a penalty of $84 million. Team officials previously told the Tribune that they paid more than $200 million toward the stadium construction, plus rent totaling more than $118 million since 2003. “Paying off the bond debt is not the Bears responsibility and has never been contingent upon the team’s home games at Soldier Field,” the team said in a statement issued earlier this year. “Any suggestion that leads people to believe the Bears are responsible for any portion of the repayment of bonds, or the bond debt payment is dependent on the team’s home games at Soldier Field, is completely misleading.” Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Madmike90 Posted May 4, 2023 Share Posted May 4, 2023 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dll2000 Posted May 9, 2023 Share Posted May 9, 2023 Let’s go. Start this. I work next to a train station 20 minutes from Arlington stop. They are building a whole bunch of apartments and townhomes right outside my work window. 6 buildings filled with them. They are 100% building those with the new stadium in mind. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Madmike90 Posted June 2, 2023 Share Posted June 2, 2023 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dll2000 Posted June 2, 2023 Share Posted June 2, 2023 38 minutes ago, Madmike90 said: The Bears have a good argument. It is basically vacant land at moment or will be when property is demolished. They would be paying 6x the amount Churchill was while still building and earning nothing. Counter argument is they assessed it at exactly purchase price - $197 million. Not sure what they were expecting. Especially from Cook County. But they are Bears. They will want special treatment. As would Amazon or whoever. Any big player. I hope it stays in Arlington for selfish reasons. Naperville is not where I want it. Nor do I want Bears to leave the state. I don't think they are ever going to stay in city for people getting excited about that. They may stay in city longer, but they will be leaving. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dll2000 Posted June 2, 2023 Share Posted June 2, 2023 The team could threaten to stay downtown longer if it feels financially slighted. Earlier this year, Cook County assessor Fritz Kaegi reset the value of Arlington Park’s land at $197 million — almost six times the $33.5 million value it held when it was a horse track. The new assessment would cost the Bears an additional $15 million per year in property taxes. “Paying property taxes is part of being a member of the community,” read a statement from the Bears. “[But] Arlington Park would not be redeveloped by anyone at such an excessive property tax rate.” The team has filed an appeal with the Cook County Board of Review, which will hear the case in June. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beardown3231 Posted June 2, 2023 Author Share Posted June 2, 2023 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ty21 Posted June 3, 2023 Share Posted June 3, 2023 The new stadium project is kinda like having kids: I don’t know how much I’ll even care until it’s here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BEAR FACE DOWN ARROW Posted June 3, 2023 Share Posted June 3, 2023 Yeah... same opinion: it's literally worth what someone is willing to pay for it, and they just paid exactly that for it. That said I think this is all going to end with an assessed value that gets lower for the next 6 years or so to throw a bone to get them to stop with the PR hedging. Naperville would suck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dll2000 Posted June 3, 2023 Share Posted June 3, 2023 12 minutes ago, BEAR FACE DOWN ARROW said: Yeah... same opinion: it's literally worth what someone is willing to pay for it, and they just paid exactly that for it. That said I think this is all going to end with an assessed value that gets lower for the next 6 years or so to throw a bone to get them to stop with the PR hedging. Naperville would suck. I think Bears are arguing that it is currently undeveloped land and should be taxed as such. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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