Chicago Bears Invited To Move To Joliet Property By Mayor

JOLIET, IL — The Chicago Bears have made it clear they are considering leaving Soldier Field and moving to Arlington Heights as their future home stadium. But if talks between the Bears and Arlington Heights hit a snag, Joliet Mayor Bob O'Dekirk wants the NFL franchise to consider moving to Joliet, the seat of Will County.

Besides, Joliet already has a massive parcel of land ready to entertain tens of thousands of Chicago Bears fans. In recent weeks, O'Dekirk reached out to Chicago Bears Chairman George McCaskey suggesting the Bears consider Joliet as their future home.

"Joliet would like to enthusiastically express their interest in becoming the new home of the Chicago Bears by way of repurposing the Chicagoland Speedway," O'Dekirk wrote McCaskey.

On Tuesday, Joliet Patch obtained a copy of the McCaskey letter from the Office of Joliet City Manager Jim Capparelli, who is mentioned in the mayor's letter.

O'Dekirk's letter informed McCaskey that "The Chicagoland Speedway is a 1.5-mile tri-oval speedway occupying approximately 600 acres in the southwest corner of Joliet. It opened in 2001 and enjoyed many successful and busy seasons until it was removed from NASCAR's rotation in 2019. At the height of the sport, Joliet successfully managed upwards of 150,000 visitors during prime season events."

The mayor's letter to McCaskey said Joliet is at the intersection of Interstate 55 and Interstate 80 and that "3 miles north of the Speedway, Metra and Amtrak rail services make frequent and regular stops at the new Gateway Center where many rail commuters already utilize the convenient service to downtown Chicago and its suburbs.

"Joliet also has a strong relationship with PACE bus who is currently developing their new bus depot immediately south of the existing Gateway Center, creating a transportation depot at the foot of historic downtown Joliet," O'Dekirk wrote.

O'Dekirk's letter to the Chicago Bears ended by urging McCaskey to call Joliet City Manager Jim Capparelli "with questions or to pursue the facilitation of this exciting new opportunity."

"City officials would greatly appreciate the opportunity to learn more about the organization's needs and help them to imagine a prosperous future in Joliet," O'Dekirk added.

On Tuesday, O'Dekirk told Joliet Patch that Bears President and CEO Ted Phillips responded to Joliet's offer regarding the Chicagoland Speedway by thanking Joliet for reaching out.

According to the mayor, Phillips did not indicate the Chicago Bears were ready to meet with Joliet officials right now.

The mayor said it's his belief that the Chicago Bears' main focus remains in ongoing conversations with Arlington Heights officials.

"It was a polite response," O'Dekirk said of Phillips' letter responding to Joliet's offer to consider the Chicagoland Speedway as another alternative.

In June, Patch reported that the Chicago Bears NFL franchise submitted a bid to buy Arlington International Racecourse. While the Bears currently have a lease to play at Soldier Field through 2033, Phillips said of a potential move to Arlington Heights, "It's our obligation to explore every possible option to ensure we're doing what's best for our organization and its future. If selected, this step allows us to further evaluate the property and its potential."

At the moment, "I'm not sure if they are taking a long look at Joliet," O'Dekirk remarked on Tuesday. "If they are looking to leave the city of Chicago, we want the Bears to know that Joliet, it's another option."

O'Dekirk said the Joliet Police Department always has done outstanding with traffic and crowd control when NASCAR weekend came to Joliet. For several years, Joliet's NASCAR stadium drew 120,000 to 150,000 visitors from all over the country to the city's Chicagoland Speedway property along Route 53 and Laraway Road.

"It might be a long shot," O'Dekirk said of attracting the Chicago Bears, "but (extending the offer) was the politically responsible thing to do. We have the Joliet police (expertise) where we know we can handle an NFL football game. We've handled 120,000 to 150,000 people."

O'Dekirk said that Joliet native Tom Thayer, who is a Chicago Bears radio announcer and was an offensive lineman on the 1985 Super Bowl team, also has reached out to the Bears about considering Joliet and the Chicagoland Speedway as a future destination for the team's stadium.

The Thayer family runs the Thayer Bros. Deli restaurant on Joliet's Ruby Street.

"Tom Thayer also talked to us, me and city manager Jim Capparelli, and he also spoke with Mr. McCaskey," O'Dekirk said.

Still, O'Dekirk said the likelihood of the Bears abandoning their ongoing discussions with Arlington Heights to move Joliet to the forefront, "I think it's a long shot."

However, Joliet has a long history of having long shots succeed. After all, Joliet Catholic graduate Daniel "Rudy" Ruettiger, Class of 1966, went on to Hollywood stardom thanks to the 1993 movie "Rudy."

Back in May, no one would have predicted that Joliet would be unveiled as the future home of North America's largest electric vehicle manufacturing plant for buses and trucks.

The future Lion Electric plant now being built off Youngs Road is expected to generate at least 1,400 new manufacturing jobs for Joliet within the next few years once it's up and running.

O'Dekirk told Joliet Patch that when he ran for mayor seven years ago, he let the voters know that he would pursue "out of the box thinking" while running City Hall.

O'Dekirk said he wanted to make sure the NFL team realized that the now-shuttered Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet could be an ideal location for the Bears, if the team decides to leave Chicago's Soldier Field and realizes that Arlington Heights might not be the best destination.

Recently elected Joliet City Councilman Joe Clement, a retired Joliet police officer with close ties to Bears Hall of Fame linebacker Brian Urlacher, told Joliet Patch that it's an excellent idea for the city to pursue the Chicagoland Speedway as the future home for the Chicago Bears.

On Tuesday night, Clement told Joliet Patch he's hopeful the Bears would give strong consideration to visiting Joliet for a first-hand tour of the Chicagoland Speedway property.

"I would like to have further conversations with Ted Phillips," Clement said. "We would never want to pass up the opportunity to entertain the option, if they wanted to come to Joliet. (Chicagoland Speedway) could definitely handle a Chicago Bears game for sure."

As to the doubters and skeptics suggesting Joliet doesn't have a snowball's chance at landing the Chicago Bears, Clement said: "You never get what you don't ask for. That's in life and everything."