Chicago Bears Considering South Side for Stadium Development

The Chicago Bears’ search for a stadium location has circled back to a long-overlooked site south of McCormick Place.

Following the state’s rejection of the team’s $900 million subsidy request for a lakefront stadium near Soldier Field, sources indicate the Bears are reconsidering the 49-acre Bronzeville Lakefront development, Crain’s reported.

The Bronzeville Lakefront site, formerly the Michael Reese Hospital property, at 2929 South Ellis Avenue, is the focus of a recently revived $6 billion megadevelopment led by Scott Goodman’s Farpoint Development.

The stadium would anchor a complex that includes residential, a hotel, entertainment venues and space for the nearby McCormick Place convention center to expand.

Loop Capital CEO Jim Reynolds, who has been facilitating talks, has urged Bears President and CEO Kevin Warren to consider the site for its economic potential.

A stadium would boost the site’s economic impact and could cement the area as a major hub on Chicago’s South Side.

“Having the Bears at Michael Reese will lift a lot of boats on the South Side,” said Alderman Lamont Robinson. “I believe that if we do this right, we can build a community where we can not just have a stadium, but we can have a destination 365 days a year.”

The Bears previously discounted the site because of design complexities linked to Metra lines, but developers have since updated plans, shifting a potential stadium farther south along 31st Street to avoid the train tracks. That adjustment would resolve concerns raised by the National Football League regarding the construction of a stadium above an active rail line.

When the Bears’ deal to build a stadium on its tract in Arlington Heights looked like it was falling apart over property taxes earlier this year, the idea to redevelop the Soldier Field area picked up steam.

But the South Side option remains viable, contingent on local political support. Mayor Brandon Johnson supports keeping the Bears in Chicago, but state funding remains a point of contention, particularly after Governor J.B. Pritzker rejected the previous subsidy request.

— Andrew Terrell