A short time after Aurora officials made their pitch to be the new home of the Chicago Bears, President Kevin Warren was complimentary of the city and its mayor at a luncheon event.
Speaking at the Lincoln Forum on Tuesday, Warren said he ran into Aurora Mayor Richard Irvin at the event, and had nothing but kind things to say.
“I am happy to see Mayor Irvin here today. He’s an astute businessman,” Warren said during the event. “Aurora is a special place.”
While the Bears remain focused on building a new stadium along Chicago’s lakefront, embarking on a public-private partnership to do so, Aurora made its pitch for the project in an op-ed published in the Chicago Tribune.
Aurora pitched itself as a “natural choice” to be the new home of the Bears in the editorial.
“Our city’s vision and professional know-how make Aurora the natural choice for the Bears’ next era,” the editorial read. “Instead of negotiating with local and state officials over where the money for a new lakefront stadium in Chicago will come from, we’re poised to immediately welcome the Bears’ stories franchise to the City of Lights.”
The op-ed was penned by Irvin, State Sen. Linda Holmes, State Rep. Barbara Hernandez and Naperville Township Assessor Matt Rasche.
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According to a press release after Tuesday’s forum, Aurora officials say there have been multiple meetings between the Bears and the city since they submitted a letter in June 2023 expressing interest in housing the team’s new stadium.
The letter comes amid pushback from numerous Illinois lawmakers, who have questioned the wisdom of investing significant public funds in the Bears’ stadium project.
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“As we’ve said to the Bears over and over again, to the White Sox and also to the Chicago Red Stars, there’s just no appetite to use taxpayer funding to fund stadiums for billionaires. Even after the election,” House Speaker Emmanuel “Chris” Welch told WTTW earlier this month.
The Bears are seeking to use a 2% hotel tax from the Illinois Sports Facilities Authority to help raise $900 million in funding for the stadium project.
Another $300 million would be required for infrastructure improvements, according to the team’s plans.
More funding would also be required in later phases of the plan, totally nearly $2.4 billion in public financing.
The Bears’ stadium did not come up for debate during the legislature’s session in May, but Warren remains undaunted as the team seeks public funds.
“I don’t think I’ve ever been disappointed in anything,” Warren said. “I understand these are big projects. They take time, energy and effort to come together. They’re expensive. You have to have foresight, you have to have vision, you have to have wisdom.”
Warren said he isn’t surprised there was pushback in the legislature to the Bears’ plan.
“I’m a realist to understand that these projects are not something you do over a weekend,” he said.
