CHICAGO (CBS) — With plans for a new lakefront stadium not moving forward anytime soon, rumors are now swirling that the Chicago Bears could pull off a double backlash.
Multiple published reports say the team is now considering the former Michael Reese Hospital site in Bronzeville for a new stadium location.
Mayor Brandon Johnson was asked about the proposal Tuesday afternoon.
“My goal is to keep them in Chicago, and as long as we are clear that we need to not only keep them in Chicago, but also create new opportunities for real economic development, that’s important,” the mayor said.
The mayor claimed the stadium would create 43,000 jobs.
Back in April, the Bears announced a $4.7 billion plan for a new dome Stadium complex on the lakeincluding additional green space and other amenities on the Museum campus and their current home at Soldier Field, shifting the team’s focus from a proposal to build a new stadium in Arlington Heights, which has been the centerpiece of the attention was.
Before the plan was announced, but after the Bears said they would spend $2 billion to stay in town, the group Friends of the Parks proposed that the Bears build on the Michael Reese site. The group is the same one that stopped director George Lucas from building a museum along the lake in 2016.
In 2021, the City Council signed off on a $3.8 billion plan to redevelop the Michael Reese site with 6,800 new homes, as well as a mix of offices, retail and research facilities.
The city bought the site in 2009 for $91 million, with the goal of using it as part of an Olympic Village during a bid for the 2016 Olympics. But Chicago lost that bid to Rio de Janeiro, and longtime Michael Reese- site has remained unused since then.
Michael Reese Hospital was founded in 1881 and closed in 2008. The former site is bounded by 26th Street on the north, 31st Street on the south, Vernon Avenue on the west and Lake Park Avenue on the east.
