Letter: Village has upper hand in Bears talks

The Chicago Bears have come hat in hand to the village of Arlington Heights asking for subsidies for developing the 372 acres on the Arlington Park site. Simply stated, if someone is buying some land and it requires a subsidy to develop it, they are paying too much for the land. They should not be coming to the village and asking for anything.

As to governmental subsidies, yes, it is ordinary and customary for governmental bodies to subsidize developments that they see as giving benefits to the locality.

Much of life is a negotiation. The Bears are not only committed to the Arlington Park site by having spent lots of time and money, but they are also committed to it because they realize that it is the ideal spot for the stadium. That is worth tons.

Estimates say that the Bears franchise is worth over $5 billion. With a new stadium, some estimate the value of the franchise will go up another $1 billion. Does the village really need to subsidize this venture?

Negotiations are won by the party with the strongest position. If the Bears do not get any subsidies, will they walk away? There is always that risk, but I think not.

One need only look at the posturing of the Bears. They already have said the stadium parcel will make money. They have spent tons of time and money to make this happen. They have made little or no demands to this point. The Bears have a Plan B. The village has the strongest hand here.

The village board of trustees and its staff are to be commended for the work they have put into reviewing this project with lots of research and input and the hiring of experts to assist them. They should continue those efforts. Good luck to the board in these final months of negotiations.

Joseph R. Julius

Rolling Meadows