Questions abound.
The CEO of the National Football League’s Chicago Bears franchise Kevin Warren has told his customers it’s Arlington Heights or bust. It is time for the business to leave Chicago and set up shop in a small Chicago suburb. There doesn’t seem to be a financial plan to build a stadium-village on a piece of property which is sizable. A 326-acre parcel of land. But Warren told his customers. “We are partnering with political, labor, business, and community leaders across Illinois to develop a plan for property tax certainty and a fair contribution toward essential infrastructure that will benefit the entire community. Arlington Heights is the only site within Cook County that meets that standard. It allows us to better serve our fan base and deliver a truly transformative and elevated gameday experience. Our new stadium, with a fixed-roof and the corresponding mixed-use development, will be worthy of the most passionate fan base in the NFL and capable of hosting marquee events year-round from the Super Bowl to the Final Four to global soccer games to concerts to community events to youth sporting events.”
Property tax certainty is an interesting phrase. Will Bears’ ownership and Arlington Heights politicians agree to payment in lieu of taxes where the Bears’ ownership pays a small portion of the property taxes? Will Bears’ ownership get a tax gadget from Arlington Heights that would allow the ownership to keep all sales taxes generated within the stadium district to pay down the cost of construction? Warren made some wild claims about the project. “This development will create more than 56,000 construction jobs, and 9,000 permanent jobs. We are forecasting $10 billion in economic impact attributed to statewide construction, and $256 million in annual statewide new business and tourism impact.” Will the 9,000 permanent jobs be well paying or will it be per diem, minimum wage jobs? There are questions that need answers.
Evan Weiner’s books are available at iTunes – https://books.apple.com/us/author/evan-weiner/id595575191
Evan can be reached at evan_weiner@hotmail.com
