Bears Make Change on Stadium
The Bears stadium situation appears to have bogged down and they're trying to give president Kevin Warren help on the project.
The Bears appointed Karen B. Murphy to the newly created position of executive vice-president of stadium development & chief operating officer.
Murphy will work with Warren on the stadium project.
Currently there are two stadium projects under consideration. One is at the Arlington International Racecourse site in Arlington Heights and the other is a potential stadium in the city which doesn't have a detailed announced plan at this point.
The Sun-Times reported the Bears are trying to collaborate with White Sox in coming up with a joint plan to use Illinois Sports Facilities Authority funds for separate stadiums. The site the Bears have talked about is the south parking lot at Soldier Field and the White Sox are considering another site near the Chicago River south of the loop.
There has been a standoff with Cook County and three school districts in the Arlington Heights area over the amount of taxes the Bears should pay on the race track property after it was assessed at a level six times higher than it had been as a race track.
The Bears made the announcement of this promotion for Murphy and said in a statement she will "...lead the club's endeavors to deliver a world-class stadium experience for Chicago fans, players and staff, while continuing to foster a culture of innovation and accountability."
Murphy has been with the team 25 years and was a senior vice-president of business strategy and chief financial officer over the past eight years.
The promotion for Murphy came with a statement crediting among her with "...overseeing the successful renovations of Soldier Field in 2003 and Halas Hall in 2013 and 2019."
The current Soldier Field is a new stadium built using the outer wall of the old one as a facade. The original opened in 1924 and the new one in the 2003 football season after the Bears spent a year playing in Champaign. It has the second-smallest seating capacity in the NFL (61,500).
The current Halas Hall opened in 1997 but had major changes done two decades later to the building and the grounds.
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