Dome Sweet Home? City Panel May Push For Soldier Field Topper: Report

CHICAGO — In what many believe could be a Hail Mary to try to keep the Chicago Bears from leaving the city’s lakefront, a report by a panel put together by Mayor Lori Lightfoot is set to release a report outlining significant improvements to Soldier Field that could include a dome, according to a published report.

The report, released Tuesday by Crain’s Chicago, indicated that the mayor’s Lakefront Museum Campus Working Group would recommend that the city explore the feasibility of putting a dome on the current home of the Bears as a way of making the venue more attractive to the team.

Sources told Crain’s that a dome could cost anywhere between $400 million and $1.5 billion and that some public taxpayer subsidy. The outlet reported that a report by the committee could be released publicly as early as Thursday.

Lightfoot has pushed for the Bears to remain at Soldier Field rather than leave for Arlington Heights, where the team has invested $197 million for a purchase agreement for the former Arlington Racetrack property where the team could build a new stadium.

A Bears spokesman told Patch in an email Wednesday that “at this time, we do not have any feedback to share on the Crain’s story.” The spokesman said that the team remains focused on the Arlington Heights property.

While the Bears have not gotten into specifics of what a new stadium would look like in Arlington Heights, many stadium experts believe that a dome may be needed to attract bigger NFL events such as hosting a Super Bowl, an NCAA Final Four, or other events like Wrestlemania.

The Crain’s report indicated that Lightfoot’s 23-member Lakefront Committee report would push for improvements and the possible rebuilding of some parts of Soldier Field as part of the project.

Lightfoot put together the museum campus committee in February to re-imagine the Lakefront area to help drive tourism. At the time, Lightfoot's office did not make any mention of the Bears, who had already entered discussions with Arlington Heights about moving the team to the suburbs.

“To better utilize Soldier Field year-round, the working group recommends the city explore the feasibility of enclosing the stadium,” a draft of the report says, according to Crain’s. “Although an enclosed venue is unlikely to attract many more major concerts due to limited touring windows, among other reasons, it would negate inconsistent weather conditions and allow Chicago to host coveted one-time events.”

The report also suggests that the city could make the space around Solider Field more geared toward entertainment and other events. The Bears have pitched the Arlington Heights site as a premier destination for entertainment as well as Bears home games.

Bears officials announced last month that it is too early to determine a timeline for a possible move to Arlington Heights. President Ted Phillips said that the purchase agreement for the racetrack property would not close until the end of 2022 or the start of 2023 but that the site is the primary focus of the team's stadium plans moving forward.