Developer pitches former U.S. Steel site in Chicago for Bears stadium as best shot to stay on lakefront
Real estate developer Related Midwest is pushing for the Chicago Bears to build their next stadium on the former U.S. Steel South Works site on the city's Far South Side.
The 200-acre site is near the Illinois Quantum and Microelectronics Park, a massive quantum campus, at 87th Street and DuSable Lake Shore Drive. Related said in a post on its website that a new stadium there would build on the investment already made in the area.
Related Midwest President Curt Bailey told Crain's Chicago Business that the site is the best possible place for the Bears to stay in Chicago and on the lakefront.
Related says the site has existing infrastructure, plenty of parking, Metra access and room for boat docks and water taxis. It calls the property the only shovel-ready site of its size in the city. The company says a stadium and entertainment district would create thousands of jobs and allow Chicago to host the Super Bowl, concerts and community events. It also says construction is already underway at the adjacent quantum park and at a new Advocate hospital.
Related pointed to its work on The 78, a development in the South Loop, as evidence of its experience leading large projects in Chicago.
A video narrated by former Chicago Bear Lance Briggs makes the case for building the stadium on the South Side at the South Works site.
It's not clear whether the Bears have responded to Related's pitch.
The Bears have said the former Arlington Park racetrack site in Arlington Heights, which they bought in 2023 for $197 million, and Hammond, Indiana, are their only two options for a new stadium. Lawmakers could vote on stadium legislation during the fall veto session, which runs Nov. 17-19 and Dec. 1-3. Sports business expert Marc Ganis said talks have focused on a bill that would let a municipality, including Arlington Heights or Chicago, create a stadium financing authority.
Illinois is funding the quantum park with $500 million in state money, and construction was underway as of CBS Chicago's August report.
Other Chicago sites have also been floated, including a Bridgeport stadium concept that a Chicago architecture firm shared on social media.