Posted by illini222 on February 2, 2024, 16:59:15, in reply to "dots"
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The story is that, after serious flirtation with moving to the suburbs — and in particular to Arlington Heights, going so far as to purchase and demolish Arlington International Racecourse — the [Bears] team now has quietly but surely made building a new home in the central area of Chicago its focus.
If the team get its way under plans that could go public soon, it will get, on the parking lot just south of Soldier Field, a brand-new, state-of-the-art domed stadium, one capable of hosting not only the Bears but Final Four basketball tournaments, Super Bowls and other big events that have tended to skip Chicago for lack of a suitable venue. […]
According to Maurice Scholten, president of the Taxpayers Federation of Illinois, the clause was tucked without much notice into a state budget implementation bill in 2021. The clause would allow the agency to refinance debt and issue new bonds for sports projects above ISFA’s current cap of $150 million for ISFA-owned facilities and $399 million for other property owned by other agencies, such as Soldier Field-title holder the Chicago Park District.
With ISFA having $488.6 million in outstanding debt as of June 30, 2023 — and all of its debt scheduled to be retired by 2032 — the way could be cleared for hundreds of millions in new bonds. However, Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf is reportedly eyeing that financing source, too, for a new baseball stadium in the South Loop. So it’s not clear whether ISFA funds from an existing 2% tax on Chicago hotel revenues would be sufficient to pay for both projects.