Lightfoot trying to get the Bears to stay??

Bearcub13

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But that goes directly to increased value and in effect overall revenue.

Here's the thing. Bears will likely dome their new facility but a dome is something they never asked for from the city. It has nothing to do with why they're leaving.
You wrote "But that goes directly to increased value and in effect overall revenue", I agree with the first part, but not the second. If the McCaskeys build a new McStadium for the Bears, the Bears value will increase, but revenue (bottom line) will not change very much at all. Stadiums lose money, I know that sounds counter-intuitive, but that is the case. If stadiums made money, people would be building them everywhere, but they only build them for identified major sports teams. If the McCaskeys build in Arlington, any other events in the facility will only go to offset some of the operational costs. If I had to bet, the McCaskeys will sell the Bears as soon as the Arlington deal is done and plans are approved. It is possible they could spend 1.5 billion on the development and then add 3 billion to the sales price. I think most commenters here on this blog think that a new stadium will make the Bears more competitive, it won't. They already get enough money from the league to max out player salaries as it is. This is all about rich people just trying to get richer...nothing more. It is not about the fans.
 

Montucky

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This is such a pathetic desperate effort by the Bears and now the city to have this meaningless distinction of hosting one Super Bowl in this brand new stadium and then never again. The NFL would prefer to not even do that but this is part of their little stadium grift and each team that builds new digs (northern teams: only if they build a dome) gets an obligatory one.

But that's it, the league is not going to have their big game in a cold weather city more than once every eight-ish years. The last one was 2018 in Minneapolis and we don't even know when the next one is, the next four Super Bowls are all in the south. They want people to be able to golf and whatever, not freeze their asses off in Chicago in February.
 

TL1961

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Lightfoot to Bears: “We have a proposal to retrofit a dome on top of the stadium we retrofitted into the old Stadium.”

Bears: “Yeah. So what does that mean for us?”

Lightfoot: “Well, you’ll be able to play in inclement weather. No more rain outs.”

Bears: “It’s football. We already play in inclement weather and games never get canceled for weather.”

Lightfoot: “But now it won’t be cold and rainy during football games causing all those empty seats.”

Reporter: “To be fair, Bears fans have always supported the team when they put a good product on the field no matter what the weather. The empty seats have nothing to do with Mother Nature.”

Bears: “Who let you in here?”

Bears: “ Will putting a dome on top of the stadium increase seating capacity?“

Lightfoot: “Well, no.”

Bears: “ Will remaining in soldier field allow us to own our own sports book on site?”

Lightfoot: “No.”

Bears: “Will putting a dome on top of the existing Stadium increase area around the stadium for parking and retail and other entertainment?”

Lightfoot:”No”

Bears: “Will staying in a 64,000 seat stadium give us a shot at hosting a Super Bowl?”

Lightfoot: “No”

Bears: “ other events? Such as college football playoff, final four?“

Lightfoot: “No”

Bears: “ Will staying in a rented stadium with limited seat capacity and no amenities surrounding it or any other revenue streams increase the value of our franchise the way we could if we were to build something new like Dallas and Atlanta and the Rams?“

Lightfoot: “No”

Ted Philips: “Where do we sign?”
 

Anytime45

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This is such a pathetic desperate effort by the Bears and now the city to have this meaningless distinction of hosting one Super Bowl in this brand new stadium and then never again. The NFL would prefer to not even do that but this is part of their little stadium grift and each team that builds new digs (northern teams: only if they build a dome) gets an obligatory one.

But that's it, the league is not going to have their big game in a cold weather city more than once every eight-ish years. The last one was 2018 in Minneapolis and we don't even know when the next one is, the next four Super Bowls are all in the south. They want people to be able to golf and whatever, not freeze their asses off in Chicago in February.
What is pathetic and desperate by the Bears? They want to have full control over their own stadium and maximize revenue. Its literally the smartest thing they've done in decades outside of firing your guy Ryan Pace. It sucks that you prefer to be on the lakefront and will miss that but this is way better for the Bears as an organization.

Welcome back btw.
 

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You wrote "But that goes directly to increased value and in effect overall revenue", I agree with the first part, but not the second. If the McCaskeys build a new McStadium for the Bears, the Bears value will increase, but revenue (bottom line) will not change very much at all. Stadiums lose money, I know that sounds counter-intuitive, but that is the case. If stadiums made money, people would be building them everywhere, but they only build them for identified major sports teams. If the McCaskeys build in Arlington, any other events in the facility will only go to offset some of the operational costs. If I had to bet, the McCaskeys will sell the Bears as soon as the Arlington deal is done and plans are approved. It is possible they could spend 1.5 billion on the development and then add 3 billion to the sales price. I think most commenters here on this blog think that a new stadium will make the Bears more competitive, it won't. They already get enough money from the league to max out player salaries as it is. This is all about rich people just trying to get richer...nothing more. It is not about the fans.
You really don't get it. Putting that new stadium there also allows the Sports Book, Bears restaurant, Hotel and fan Shop etc at the site which would not exist without the stadium. All very positive revenue and part of the stadium complex. The move is not just about the stadium itself. In fact, as I've already mentioned, the final straw was not allowing the Bear a neighboring Sports Book to Solder Field. Also, a properly managed stadium can generate over $1/4B a year in revenue. Of course it will take time to pay off the nut but it's money well spent. Point is that it's profitable to THE TEAM and greatly increases its value.

I find it extremely humorous that you can jump streams that quickly by saying stadiums lose money when it has everything to do with what the municipality doesn't recoup and nothing to do with your particular definition of revenue and then say it isn't cost effective for the team that is actually getting positive revenue from the facility while also greatly increasing their bottom line. They won't do this on their own anyway. There'll likely be Casino money and tax concessions to build as well, however Arlington may actually recoup any concessions due to gambling and events.

As for your seating and view lines nonsense. Soldier Field may have the narrowest seats in the league to cram that many in and even with the remodel, handicapped persons have a really hard time and you can miss most of a quarter waiting for a hot dog. It's just a load of crap.
 

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Am I the only one that likes the design, I like the new columns mixed with the traditional ones. This is how the last upgrade should have been.
 

Montucky

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What is pathetic and desperate by the Bears? They want to have full control over their own stadium and maximize revenue. Its literally the smartest thing they've done in decades outside of firing your guy Ryan Pace. It sucks that you prefer to be on the lakefront and will miss that but this is way better for the Bears as an organization.

Welcome back btw.
It makes no difference at all to their win total. The Vikings built their dome and have been a major dissappointment, the Lions play in the new Ford Field are have been just as garbage as they were the fifty seasons prior. It does nothing to move the needle for on-field success. Its a salary cap league, they can't take the money on spend it on better players.
 

Montucky

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Am I the only one that likes the design, I like the new columns mixed with the traditional ones. This is how the last upgrade should have been.
Its ugly but I've come around on it. It fits what the Bears need and what the league is going for. The NFL is a TV show, its not about selling tickets to in-person games and hasn't been since forever.

Thing looks great on TV (it really does, even if its ludicrously designed there is no better panning shot than Soldier Field with the skyline in the background) and the shitty weather late in the season creates an element of drama. Now we're going to a seventy-two degree, windless environment where the nearest major landmark is...I dont even know, is Woodfield Mall even that far out of town?...and going to claim this team will have anywhere near the same character? You relocate this team and you are ripping its heart out and hollowing out its soul for a quick buck.
 

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It makes no difference at all to their win total. The Vikings built their dome and have been a major dissappointment, the Lions play in the new Ford Field are have been just as garbage as they were the fifty seasons prior. It does nothing to move the needle for on-field success. Its a salary cap league, they can't take the money on spend it on better players.
I mean... thats a totally ridiculous argument because no one is saying they're going to win more games because they moved but because you went down this hilarious path, i'll have some fun and play along.

The Vikings since opening their new stadium have won 54 games in 6 years and have made the NFCC. The 6 years prior to that they won 42 games and didn't make the NFCC. So statistics clearly show that opening a new stadium = more wins. I'm not going to look up the Lions because i dont want my computer to get cancer.

I can't believe this needs to be said but this isn't about wins. Its about revenue. It's a business. It's about being able to control your own building because they're sick of not controlling the field conditions because Miley Cyrus had a concert two nights before and decided to take a country dump on the field. And maybe they do handle football business differently with more money and a dome. Maybe players would be more likely to play somewhere where they dont have to worry about getting tackled on concrete grass 8-9 games a season. Maybe having that extra money makes it more likely that they'll eat contracts of GMs and HCs who clearly should be fired?

It's crazy that anyone would think its smarter to stay somewhere where you cant even control your own home field and you are minimizing revenue by having one of the most popular franchises in football play in the second smallest stadium in the league in one of the biggest markets in the country. Lunacy.
 

didshereallysaythat

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Why can’t they just tear down the columns and rebuild them exactly the same only this time to fit outside an 85,000 seat modern stadium? Like anyone would give a fuck that it’s not the “authentic” columns built 100 years ago.
 

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I guess you want them back in Wrigley. Why should they care about an extra $2m per game (seats plus amenities/parking) or the extra events available to a modern facility? Can't wait until you complain about a SB going there.
NFL teams don't make their money on ticket sales, it comes from the TV deal.
 

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NFL teams don't make their money on ticket sales, it comes from the TV deal.
No one even implied that it was their 'main' source of revenue.
 

TL1961

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NFL teams don't make their money on ticket sales, it comes from the TV deal.
Ticket revenue is shared because the league founders were smart enough to know they need teams in cities of different sizes to survive and to keep a level playing field.

The teams that have greatly increased in value recently get the same TV money as others. And they share their ticket revenue.

That’s why the value comes from the amenities around the stadium such as the hotel, the sports book, retail, restaurants, etc.

All the more reason for building new and owning the surrounding area. No sharing.

You can look at Jerryworld in Arlington as the prime example but not the only one now. They do not share all the revenue from hosting the college football playoff, the final four, concerts etc. etc.

To think that the Bears would be not increasing their revenue and their value by moving to Arlington is literally missing the entire point of the move. It would be an epic fail to remain in the city and forego the additional revenue streams.

Kroenke tripled his franchise’s value by moving to Sofi. Clearly that involves LA vs St. Louis which is not the same situation. But for those who criticize that move (and I didn’t like to see it), it’s hard to argue.
 

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Why can’t they just tear down the columns and rebuild them exactly the same only this time to fit outside an 85,000 seat modern stadium? Like anyone would give a fuck that it’s not the “authentic” columns built 100 years ago.
No one does. The columns were kept as part of Historical status so that they could do the rebuild. Otherwise it would still be old Soldier field. Not long after, the historical status was lifted because it was just silly looking at that point and the original architecture was effectively destroyed. Soldier Field is no more a Bears tradition than Wrigley Field. I don't expect the new stadium to have Roman columns nor be named after chewing gum.
 

bamainatlanta

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Its ugly but I've come around on it. It fits what the Bears need and what the league is going for. The NFL is a TV show, its not about selling tickets to in-person games and hasn't been since forever.

Thing looks great on TV (it really does, even if its ludicrously designed there is no better panning shot than Soldier Field with the skyline in the background) and the shitty weather late in the season creates an element of drama. Now we're going to a seventy-two degree, windless environment where the nearest major landmark is...I dont even know, is Woodfield Mall even that far out of town?...and going to claim this team will have anywhere near the same character? You relocate this team and you are ripping its heart out and hollowing out its soul for a quick buck.

Your business acumen is just as bad as your football acumen.
 

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I mean... thats a totally ridiculous argument because no one is saying they're going to win more games because they moved but because you went down this hilarious path, i'll have some fun and play along.

The Vikings since opening their new stadium have won 54 games in 6 years and have made the NFCC. The 6 years prior to that they won 42 games and didn't make the NFCC. So statistics clearly show that opening a new stadium = more wins. I'm not going to look up the Lions because i dont want my computer to get cancer.

I can't believe this needs to be said but this isn't about wins. Its about revenue. It's a business. It's about being able to control your own building because they're sick of not controlling the field conditions because Miley Cyrus had a concert two nights before and decided to take a country dump on the field. And maybe they do handle football business differently with more money and a dome. Maybe players would be more likely to play somewhere where they dont have to worry about getting tackled on concrete grass 8-9 games a season. Maybe having that extra money makes it more likely that they'll eat contracts of GMs and HCs who clearly should be fired?

It's crazy that anyone would think its smarter to stay somewhere where you cant even control your own home field and you are minimizing revenue by having one of the most popular franchises in football play in the second smallest stadium in the league in one of the biggest markets in the country. Lunacy.
Montucky wants them to stay put because of pretty shots of the skyline lol. As if they can't show the same shit on his TV in Montona if they are playing at a different stadium. I mean the logic is just not there for him not matter how much he tries.
 

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Montucky wants them to stay put because of pretty shots of the skyline lol. As if they can't show the same shit on his TV in Montona if they are playing at a different stadium. I mean the logic is just not there for him not matter how much he tries.
Imagine running a business, not to maximize profit, but to maximize nostalgia and skyline views. Incredible.
 

Montucky

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Imagine running a business, not to maximize profit, but to maximize nostalgia and skyline views. Incredible.
Its not my business. Its not yours, either.

I'm their customer and I don't give a shit if they're worth one billion, two billion or three billion dollars. The fact you do is frankly strange, since its not like you'll ever see a dime of that money. Bootlicker mentality, many such cases.
 

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