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Chicago Bears Hire JLL to Help Prep Plans for New Suburban Stadium

Lightfoot Hints at Proposals to Keep Chicago Bears at Soldier Field 

Mayor Lori Lightfoot hinted at a couple of pathways toward persuading the Chicago Bears to reconsider exiting Soldier Field and building a new facility at Arlington International Racecourse. Published reports said Lightfoot gave a pair of radio interviews Friday alluding to “a couple of proposals that are very, very interesting” to improve Soldier Field. 

“We’re going to continue to do everything we can to keep the Bears in Chicago, and [we’re] working on some plans to present to them that I think will make a very, very compelling financial case as to why it makes abundant sense for them to stay in Chicago,” Lightfoot said Friday during an appearance on 670 The Score. 

A longtime Bears fan, Lightfoot said the stadium’s fan experience needs improvement. In a later interview with ESPN affiliate WMVP-AM 1000, Lightfoot said adding a roof to the stadium was “something we have to explore.”  

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About Paul Bubny

Paul Bubny serves as Senior Content Director for Connect Commercial Real Estate, a role to which he brings 16-plus years’ experience covering the commercial real estate industry and 30-plus years in business-to-business journalism. In this capacity, he oversees daily operations while also reporting on both local/regional markets and national trends, covering individual transactions across all property types, as well as delving into broader subject matter. He produces 7-10 daily news stories per day and works with the Connect team and clients to develop longer-form content, ranging from Q&As to thought-leadership pieces. Prior to joining Connect, Paul was Managing Editor for both Real Estate Forum and GlobeSt.com at American Lawyer Media, where he oversaw operations at both publications while also producing daily news and feature-length articles. His tenure in B2B publishing stretches back into the print era, and he has served as Editor in Chief on four national trade publications. Since 1999, Paul has volunteered as the newsletter editor of passenger rail advocacy groups (one national, one local).

  • ◦Policy/Gov't