There are now seven municipalities in northern Illinois that want the franchise to move to their burgs.
It is Thanksgiving and the owners of the National Football League’s Chicago Bears franchise should be the most thankful of any of the 31 NFL owners and the Green Bay Packers Board of Directors. There are municipalities in northern Illinois that want the McCaskey business. The latest is Country Club Hills, Illinois. Political and business leaders from the municipality which is about 25 miles south of downtown Chicago sent a letter to team president and CEO Kevin Warren, and the principal Bears’ franchise owner 100-year-old Virginia McCaskey to take a look at the town. “Country Club Hills’ strategic location near three major highways, the Metra Electric line, and the Indiana border gives the Bears the opportunity to develop a world-class stadium and experience that management purports to want for the team’s future growth,” said Monica Gordon, Cook County commissioner.
Politicians in Arlington Heights, Aurora, Chicago, Naperville, Richton Park and Waukegan want a chance at building the Bears’ planned stadium-village complex. The McCaskey family purchased a 326-acre piece of property in Arlington Heights that could house a stadium-village. At one point, about two months ago, the McCaskeys were dedicated to the Arlington Heights site and planned to move the team to the Chicago suburb but then the McCaskeys received the tax bill on the property and they didn’t like what they saw. The property tax was higher than anticipated and that caused the McCaskeys to do a double take. The McCaskey family is not making any decisions in 2023 about the business’s future home. There are at least seven municipalities that want a chance at landing the NFL team. The McCaskey family is contractually obligated to use Soldier Field for Bears’ games until 2033 in Chicago but the lease can be terminated early if the McCaskey’s pay a lease breaking penalty. The McCaskeys seem to be in the catbird seat in the stadium game.
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