ESPN host Stephen A. Smith criticized Chicago officials after Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker acknowledged the Chicago Bears will not get a new stadium within their namesake city.
On Friday, the Chicago Tribune reported Pritzker stated, “I think now there’s a common understanding by most of the (Illinois) General Assembly that they’re not going to be able to build in the city of Chicago.” Smith used a Saturday appearance on ESPN’s “First Take” to berate city leaders.
“Chicago letting this happen?” Smith stated. “Shame on them — because it’s the Bears. You ain’t supposed to let the Bears go across state lines. You don’t let that happen in the city of Chicago.”
The Bears have been agitating to move from their longtime home at Soldier Field in Chicago into a new domed stadium. But the team and the city were unable to come to a mutually acceptable plan for the Bears to remain in the city. And whether the team will stay in Illinois is uncertain because Indiana lawmakers have been aggressively lobbying to bring the team across the state line by helping to pay for a new stadium.
“The city of Chicago has had ample time to work something out so you don’t have to deal with Soldier Field — and you haven’t done it,” Smith continued. “If Indiana is going to step up and get it done, and we’re talking about a 20-minute drive? Please. You do it. There’s no question about it. But it’s just sad. It’s Chi-Town. It’s Chicago. It’s going to be sad.”
Smith added Chicago would take “a financial hit” with the team’s departure, adding, “It’s very, very stupid for the city of Chicago not to find a way to get this done. You’re going to let Indiana profit off your team?”
Photo courtesy of the Moody College of Communication at the University of Texas at Austin
