At a time when Illinois isn’t doing much to keep the Bears from crossing the border to Indiana, the powers-that-be are finding the funding to build a new stadium for the local MLS team.
Via Brian J. Rogal of the Chicago Tribune, the Chicago City Council’s Finance Committee has voted to devote $424 million in property tax revenue for the infrastructure around the site of the Chicago Fire’s new downtown stadium.
While the full City Council must still vote on the move, it’s something tangible. Which is something more than the Bears have gotten in Chicago.
Of course, the Bears aren’t officially hoping to stay in Chicago. They’ve repeatedly said it’s either Arlington Heights, Illinois, or Hammond, Indiana. Unofficially, they keep trying to get Chicago to the table.
And while it’ll take a lot more than $424 million in public money to build a new stadium for the Bears in Chicago, the Bears are a far bigger and more important public asset than the Chicago Fire.
The Fire’s stadium, at a price tag of $750 million, is privately financed. But you can’t just drop a stadium into a vacant lot and let nature take its course. And Chicago is moving toward coming up with a very large chunk of money aimed at properly developing the surrounding area.
While, at some level, it’s apples and oranges, both are fruit. And the fruit of the taxpayer tree is falling far more easily for the Fire than it is for the Bears.
Read the full article here
