Urban location is best for Bears
The Chicago Bears Economic & Fiscal Impact Report for the proposed stadium and mixed-use district in Arlington Heights outlines regional economic benefits driven by expectations for new mega events. Implementation would continue a long history of vacating Chicago city to relocate the built environment in suburbia. The legacy of these choices includes urban decay/violent crime, excessive travel costs from auto dependency, close to the worst traffic congestion internationally, deficient funding for the vast transportation network and environmental degradation.
Authorities are now poised to facilitate either the Arlington Heights or Hammond locations. These choices appear driven by the absence of a readily available Chicago city site. However, 25% of Chicago city is vacant. Officials could do the leg work necessary to create a setting through appropriate incentives and assistance. Regional plans in northeast Illinois and northwest Indiana prioritize marginalized communities, infill development and investments in existing activity centers. Disappointedly, these plans don’t appear to be relevant.
Research shows that economic activity from sports stadiums tends to increase with proximity to regional centers when congestion is managed sufficiently with public transportation. A Chicago city site is a generational opportunity to take advantage of urbanism’s efficiencies while addressing the above social ills to realize further benefits. Both the region and Chicago city will be worse off with either proposed location due to these lost opportunities. The larger issue is a lack of authoritative regional land use planning to ensure more collectively optimal outcomes.
Imagine a facility where 75% of fans arrive via multiple rail transit lines á la London’s Wembley Stadium; traffic congestion is minimized due to road capacity and parking restrictions; chained visits to existing attractions are fully leveraged; and unneeded development in the hinterlands is prevented. Now that is a vision of placemaking worthy of a world class city.
Reginald Arkell
Wheaton