Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker’s top staff members meet with Chicago Bears, stadium remains ‘non-starter’

Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker’s top staff members met with the Chicago Bears on Wednesday, but a stadium deal remains a “non-starter,” according to the governor’s spokesperson.

Per Lee Enterprise’s Brenden Moore in Springfield, Pritzker’s press secretary Alex Gough confirmed that Chief of Staff Anne Caprara and Deputy Governor Andy Manar met with the Bears to discuss the team’s stadium proposal.

Just last week, the Bears released details of their proposed stadium on the Chicago lakefront. The team proposed a new enclosed stadium just south of where Soldier Field sits now. The Bears estimated that the total cost of the stadium and surrounding parks and infrastructure changes would cost $4.7 billion.

The stadium alone will cost $3.2 billion and the team is asking the state for $900 million by tacking on another 40 years to the hotel tax that funded Guaranteed Rate Field and the 2003 Soldier Field renovations. That doesn’t account for another $1.5 billion in infrastructure that would be needed for the surrounding area. Additionally, several recent reports have indicated that refinancing existing debt on Guaranteed Rate Field and Soldier Field, plus financing a new stadium could cost another $1 billion in taxpayer money.

Pritzker was not present at the initial stadium announcement last week, but said then that he was skeptical of the proposal.

It appears that he remains skeptical a week later.

“As the Governor has said, the current proposal is a non-starter for the state,” Gough said Wednesday. “In order to subsidize a brand new stadium for a privately owned sports team, the Governor would need to see a demonstrable and tangible benefit to the taxpayers of Illinois. The Governor’s office remains open to conversations with the Bears, lawmakers and other stakeholders with the understanding that responsible fiscal stewardship of tax-payer dollars remains the foremost priority.”

In order to subsidize a brand new stadium for a privately owned sports team, the Governor would need to see a demonstrable and tangible benefit to the taxpayers of Illinois.”

—  Alex Gough, Governor's press secretary