Another Bears Suburban Stadium Candidate

Aurora has become the lastest suburb to show interest in becoming a home for the Bears.

According to the Pioneer Press, Aurora mayor Richard Irvin sent a letter to Bears president Kevin Warren inviting him to discuss a potential project in that far west suburban community.

"The opportunity to partner with the historic Chicago Bears as you search for the perfect new home is one we are eager to take on. Welcoming a historic organization such as the Chicago Bears would enhance our bold vision for Aurora and will provide the Chicago Bears with a new home to begin the next phase of your storied history," Irvin wrote in a letter released to the public.

Aurora has the second-largest population of any city in Illinois. Neighboring Naperville and north suburban Waukegan have also made invitations of this sort, while Chicago mayor Brandon Johnson has met with Warren about staying in Chicago.

The plan currently being pursued by the Bears is the Arlington International Racecourse property they bought for $197 million but the situation is at what Warren called a "stalemate" at the moment because of tax issues. The property was assessed by Cook County at a rate about five times greater than it was when it was a race track, even though it currently has no use. The Bears have begun tearing down the grandstand in an attempt to have the assessment reduced.

Illinois is not offering public funds to help the Bears for the project but the team plans to pay for the stadium without public funding. However, they say they need tax breaks and public money for infrastructure improvement, much as was done with Sofi Stadium in Los Angeles.

Warren on Monday night told a forum of about 300 Arlington Heights residents the team would not proceed with the stadium without an agreement on the tax bill.

"We've had a stalemate and a lack of communication and it's a little more convoluted at this point in time than I thought it would be," Warren said, acccording to the Chicago Tribune.

Several other stadium projects haven't met with money issues to this extent. The Tennessee Titans will get $1.26 billon in public funding for an indoor stadium project and the Buffalo Bills Stadium included $850 million in public subsidies from state taxpapers.

The Minnesota Vikings project Warren worked on has been a classic case of success with public funding involved. A bill signed by Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz allowed for the retirement of $377 million in outstanding stadium bonds, wiping out debt scheduled to be paid off in 2046.

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