The Kansas City Chiefs have been having trouble getting their home city to foot part of the bill for their stadium upgrade plans and now it appears that the Chicago Bears are having similar problems.
Members of the Chicago Bears met with staffers for the office of Illinois governor J.B. Pritzker on Wednesday in hopes of earning the governor’s support for their new, multi-billion dollar stadium, which calls for over $2 billion in taxpayer money to pay for. But after the meeting, the governor’s office made it clear that Pritzker will not support the effort.
In a statement released by press secretary Alex Gough, Governor Pritzker has dubbed the current proposal “a non-starter for the state.” Gough explained that the governor wants “to see a demonstrable and tangible benefit to the taxpayers of Illinois” before signing off on any such agreement.
Gough made it clear that the governor’s office is still open to speaking with the Bears, so long as they understand that “responsible fiscal stewardship of tax-payer dollars” is a priority for the office.
“As the Governor has said, the current proposal is a non-starter for the state,” Gough said, via ProFootballTalk. “In order to subsidize a brand new stadium for a privately owned sports team, the Governor would need to see a demonstrable and tangible benefit to the taxpayers of Illinois. The Governor’s office remains open to conversations with the Bears, lawmakers, and other stakeholders with the understanding that responsible fiscal stewardship of tax-payer dollars remains the foremost priority.”
NFL fanbases are becoming disillusioned by the idea of their tax dollars subsidizing football teams that continue to bring in record revenues every single year. More and more seem willing to call the owners on their bluff that they’ll leave the city entirely without getting help in paying for a new stadium.
We’ll see if the Bears attempt to make a similar threat if they don’t get their way.