Developer proposes Chicago Bears stadium at Bronzeville Lakefront

Farpoint Development has revealed renderings of its pitch for a new Chicago Bears stadium on the former Michael Reese hospital site in Bronzeville. Located south of McCormick Place and bounded by E. 31st St to the south, the developer has approval for the Bronzeville Lakefront megadevelopment on the site but has sought to bring the Bears to site as development plans have yet to move forward.

With renderings by Lamar Johnson Collaborative, the vision shows the same stadium that was proposed on the lakefront last year located at the south end of the site along E. 31st Street between the existing Prairie Shores towers along S. Martin Luther King Dr and the Metra tracks to the east. The mixed-use campus would include an entertainment district with retail, food and barrage offerings, one or more hotels, and other uses to create a modern professional sports venue experience. 

The plan also features a large 20-acre park that bridges from the stadium district over the Metra tracks and Lake Shore Drive to connect with the lakefront. Subsequent phases are envisioned to include multiple new buildings with at least 4,500 residential units on the northern end of the Michael Reese site and on top of the McCormick Place Marshalling Yards which sits between the Michael Reese site and Lake Shore Drive. 

It is currently unclear whether the Bears will be interested in pursuing their new stadium at the site as they currently focus on the lakefront site and their Arlington Heights property as two options for moving forward with new construction. According to a report from Crains, Farpoint CEO Scott Goodman argues his site provides the best of both options: a new stadium in the urban core that also gives the team the option to develop ancillary uses as it sees fit.

After previously deeming the site too narrow for stadium construction, reports claimed the team began to reconsider the Michael Reese site amid pushback to the lakefront plan from elected officials and the advocacy group Friends of the Parks which have threatened a lawsuit to prevent the new stadium. Farpoint CEO Scott Goodman confirmed to Crain's that members of his development team have shared the vision with Bears leadership.

This proposal for bringing the Bears to the Michael Reese site would involve building the stadium for an estimated $3.2 billion financed privately by the team in addition to $356 million in parking and infrastructure costs for the venue. $600 million of state funding would be used to prepare the larger site for mixed-use development with environmental remediation and infrastructure work. The City of Chicago would then contribute the land and pay off the approximately $40 million in outstanding debt on the property as well as contribute another $40 million for ongoing infrastructure work. 

The vision for bringing the Chicago Bears to the Michael Reese site is still entirely conceptual and it is unclear where the team will ultimately decide to build its new stadium. The Bears currently have a lease to play at Soldier Field through 2033.