Bears pendulum swings back towards suburban Arlington Heights Stadium

Well, Kevin Warren was here when USB and Eagan were id'd and developed...This doesn't surprise me in the least.

I agree, Bears outside of Soldier Field just feels wrong.

My wife is from the Chicago suburbs and she remembers some of her early memories was of her parents taking her downtown for demolition derby races at Soldier Field. The Bears belong downtown.

I haven't been to a game in Chicago in years, but I hope they keep it downtown. If I remember right, Soldier, the Shedd, the Addler and the Field are all within walking distance. Move it to Arlington and, yay, you'll be walking distance to a Walmart, a Lowes, a Staples and a Great Clips.

MaroonBells wrote:
I haven't been to a game in Chicago in years, but I hope they keep it downtown. If I remember right, Soldier, the Shedd, the Addler and the Field are all within walking distance. Move it to Arlington and, yay, you'll be walking distance to a Walmart, a Lowes, a Staples and a Great Clips.

MaroonBells wrote:
I haven't been to a game in Chicago in years, but I hope they keep it downtown. If I remember right, Soldier, the Shedd, the Addler and the Field are all within walking distance. Move it to Arlington and, yay, you'll be walking distance to a Walmart, a Lowes, a Staples and a Great Clips.

Do those places really add to a game day experience?  IIRC correctly there isnt much else in that area as far as hotels and restaurants to add to the game day experience,   ive never been to a game there,  but have been to the other places a few times and always found it to be an odd location for a football stadium.

The location will change to suite the people using it if the city allows,  look at what used to be around the dome location,  news paper offices, paint warehouse, and a lot of other stuff that doesnt really enhance a game day and look at it now.  Their arlington heights threat ( because I assume they arent really relocating )  would likely become as much or more of a game day/weekend destination as the current location is.  

I look at glendale az,  all that shopping and entertainment options and hotels came because of the 2 sports venues,  I think the same would happen in about any major city.

JimmyinSD wrote:

Do those places really add to a game day experience?  IIRC correctly there isnt much else in that area as far as hotels and restaurants to add to the game day experience,   ive never been to a game there,  but have been to the other places a few times and always found it to be an odd location for a football stadium.

The location will change to suite the people using it if the city allows,  look at what used to be around the dome location,  news paper offices, paint warehouse, and a lot of other stuff that doesnt really enhance a game day and look at it now.  Their arlington heights threat ( because I assume they arent really relocating )  would likely become as much or more of a game day/weekend destination as the current location is.  

I look at glendale az,  all that shopping and entertainment options and hotels came because of the 2 sports venues,  I think the same would happen in about any major city.

Unfortunately Soldier field was built before there was such a thing as "game-day experience." Suffice to say I much prefer to be in the city. Love cities like Denver and Minneapolis, who have all their sports and arts facilities downtown. Fly in, take light rail to a downtown hotel and walk to everything you want to do.

I worked a few miles from the Arlington Park property. Schaumburg is only 4 miles away with a large shopping, dining, hotel presence so it's actually not a bad location. There's also lots in Arlington Heights and Rolling Meadows. The Bears have proposed an entertainment zone on the property with dining and shopping on the property which would be available year round..similar to many of the newer baseball complexes. It would certainly make for a better tailgate experience as even the limited US Bank tailgating space dwarves that at Soldier Field.

Where does most of the ticket-buying Bears fan base reside? That plays into it. I remember ages ago when they built the Metrodome, there were proposals to build in the northern suburbs or Anoka. And the team shot those down because something like 85% of it's ticket-buying fans lived south of downtown. I think a big part of why it got build downtown was the Star Tribune owned some of the land and gave it to them iirc. And the Strib definitely loved the idea of a stadium a short walk from their hq.

comet52 wrote:
Where does most of the ticket-buying Bears fan base reside?  That plays into it.  I remember ages ago when they built the Metrodome, there were proposals to build in the northern suburbs or Anoka.  And the team shot those down because something like 85% of it's ticket-buying fans lived south of downtown.  I think a big part of why it got build downtown was the Star Tribune owned some of the land and gave it to them iirc.  And the Strib definitely loved the idea of a stadium a short walk from their hq.

The olde Startribune HQ bldg was "kaput" when USB was built:

Star Tribune did lose its longtime headquarters building on Portland Avenue in Downtown Minneapolis when U.S. Bank Stadium was being built. The newspaper moved its newsroom and headquarters to a new facility at 650 Third Avenue South in March 2015. The sale of the old headquarters and adjacent land paved the way for the revitalization of Downtown East, including the construction of U.S. Bank Stadium

StickierBuns wrote:

There is nothing retail/hotel oriented close to Soldier Field, you are correct. You have to walk West away from the stadium, under Lake Shore Drive and back into the city for any bars, restaurants, shopping, hotels etc. As MB mentions there's things like the aquarium, etc. not that far away but otherwise nothing and certainly nothing that would add to the gameday experience. The Le Meridien Essex where I stayed last year for the game was so perfect, across from Grant Park on Michigan Ave and just a <20 minute walk to the stadium. The hotel is just ok, but the location is amazing. 

I do think its a bit of a strange location for a stadium, but its been there a long time now. And there's nowhere else downtown to put it.

Ive stayed at the Essex myself,  the location is great,  I dont know about how safe it is these days, but 25 years ago when I stayed there it was a bit sketchy outside in the evenings.

purplefaithful wrote:

The olde Startribune HQ bldg was "kaput" when USB was built:

Star Tribune did lose its longtime headquarters building on Portland Avenue in Downtown Minneapolis when U.S. Bank Stadium was being built. The newspaper moved its newsroom and headquarters to a new facility at 650 Third Avenue South in March 2015. The sale of the old headquarters and adjacent land paved the way for the revitalization of Downtown East, including the construction of U.S. Bank Stadium

I was talking about the original Metrodump. Newspapers had a lot more influence back then.

StickierBuns wrote:

Its probably improved in 25 years, didn't feel unsafe at night there, but yeah its not as nice as other areas downtown. It was purchased by Marriott since you stayed there, so its ok inside, but its location to Soldier Field and that its a Marriott property (my wife and I have a shitload of points) is why we stayed there. Also the best bagel place we've ever ate at is right down the block: Tilly Bagel. Unbelievable. 

StickierBuns wrote:

Yeah, its been upgraded to a Le Meridien level Marriott property since you've been there, with a restaurant off the lobby called the Grant Park Bistro (view of the park).

LOL,  the restaurant was there at the time.  topic for another time though.

badgervike wrote:
I worked a few miles from the Arlington Park property.  Schaumburg is only 4 miles away with a large shopping, dining, hotel presence so it's actually not a bad location.  There's also lots in Arlington Heights and Rolling Meadows.  The Bears have proposed an entertainment zone on the property with dining and shopping on the property which would be available year round..similar to many of the newer baseball complexes.  It would certainly make for a better tailgate experience as even the limited US Bank tailgating  space dwarves that at Soldier Field.

I'm very familiar with the area and the surrounding areas.  It is an ideal location to get to.  For most fans of the Bears, it will be much easier than getting to Soldier Field.  I would put the odds at 80%+ that AH is the eventual home.  I would have preferred it staying a horse track, but it is what it is, and I think people are fooling themselves if they think the Bears will stay near their current site.  I don't want them to leave, but I think it's nearly a slam dunk at this point.