Friends of the Park has launched their effort to formally fight plans to build a new Chicago Bears stadium on the city’s lakefront.
The group previously defeated plans by “Star Wars” creator George Lucas to build a museum on the same site.
The Bears’ strong push to build a new lakefront stadium is being blocked by a coalition of community groups led by Friends of the park.
The Bears’ proposal includes building a $3.2 billion stadium south of Soldier Field, the same location where Lucas planned to construct his own museum until Friends of the Park successfully drove his project out of town. The nonprofit took legal action against Lucas, though Kilgore said they’re not quite ready to deploy that against the Bears quite yet.
Besides ensuring the lakefront remains “forever open, clear and free,” Friends of the Park and other groups strongly oppose any public dollars used for the project. The Bears are seeking $3 billion in taxpayer financing.
In a written response, a Chicago Bears spokesperson said the project will not only create thousands of job but, “our plan also increases the green and open space and provides more year-round access to the lakefront.”
Friends of the Park said it has had conversations with the Bears, sharing their concerns with the organizations. But they have yet to reach out to Mayor Brandn Johnson for a conversation.
