The melodrama over where the Chicago Bears will build a new stadium took another turn with Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson renewing his efforts to keep the team in the city.
Front Office Sports reports Johnson is preparing to lobby the team to reconsider the site of the former Michael Reese Hospital in the city’s Bronzeville section for a stadium. The Bears previously rejected the site due to its “very narrow” parameters and the presence of active rail lines.
Johnson’s effort seeks to shake-up the two suburban options that the team is considering for a new stadium: one that would be built in suburban Arlington Heights on a parcel owned by the team, and another across the state line in Hammond, Indiana, which has the backing of the state government.
Bronzeville is a historically Black community in Chicago. Michael Reese Hospital was demolished in 2009 and the site has been mostly vacant ever since. The property was considered as the potential site of an athletes’ village when Chicago sought the 2016 Summer Olympics, and in 2021 the Chicago City Council approved a $3.8 billion mixed-use redevelopment project called Bronzeville Lakefront – but to date, only infrastructure upgrades have occurred at the location.
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