Palatine officials learn in Houston what a suburban Bears game day might be like

Palatine officials recently traveled to NRG Stadium in Houston to get a better idea of how a Bears stadium in Arlington Heights might affect Palatine.

Village Manager Reid Ottesen shared his findings with the public in a meeting Wednesday with residents in districts 1 and 2 at village hall.

Ottesen, Police Chief William Nord, Deputy Chief David Brandwein and Public Works Director Matt Barry saw firsthand what a game day in Arlington Heights might look like.

Ottesen said the Bears had encouraged village officials to look at game day operations in a place similar to Palatine. One of the venues was NRG Stadium. It has a road similar to Route 53, a major street similar to Northwest Highway and a side street that is just like Wilke Road. It is also near a commuter rail line.

“This had so many of the characteristics that we would be seeing at Arlington Park,” he said.

The stadium, he said, has a capacity of about 72,000, compared with 60,000 for the current Bears stadium. In addition, the Houston stadium has 26,000 parking spaces.

He said the exit ramp from their equivalent of Route 53 starts at four lanes and tapers down to two.

“It flowed real smoothly up until about 30 or 40 minutes before the game. And then you started seeing backing up and queuing up. It never queued up onto the expressway,” he said.

He said while no traffic plans have been shared with the village, he has heard the intention is to use the Northwest Highway exit. This, he said, is an area of concern, adding Palatine is very anxious to see a traffic study and begin a formal evaluation.

“Our biggest concern is traffic,” he said, especially traffic using such roads as Euclid and Illinois as well as cutting through side streets.

Nor, he said, is Metra likely to be the solution for fans coming from northern or southern suburbs.

Another concern, he said, is the personnel needed to handle public safety.

“We may need to have an extra 10 to 15 people on game days,” he said. “But the Bears are talking about having 30 events a year.”

Another big item will be infrastructure. He noted Arlington Park is on a well system.

“They need to figure out how they're going to get Lake Michigan water out there, not just for the stadium, but for the rest of the development,” he said. “Palatine needs to know how it will be served and that there is no adverse impact on the south end of our community.”