Eye On Illinois: Bears up front about quest for public aid with suburban development

In good traffic, it’s about a seven-hour drive south from Chicago’s Soldier Field to Nissan Stadium in Nashville.

But you don’t have to journey those 500 miles to pay attention to what’s happening in Tennessee’s capital city as the owners of the Titans try to get as much public money as possible to fund a $2.2 billion stadium project.

There are several differences between this project and the Chicago Bears getting serious about a $5 billion redevelopment of the former Arlington International Racecourse property, but some key similarities. Local governments own the current homes of both teams. Nashville’s opened in 1999, the Soldier Field renovation is five years younger. Moving into a domed venue is on the table for both proposals.

The Nashville plan is further down the road. The project’s cost is about half the Arlington Heights idea because nearly all the money is in the stadium itself (and comes against renovations of the current facility pegged at close to $1.9 billion). Nashville has plenty of entertainment and commercial options on both sides of the Cumberland River, but the Bears envision a from-scratch “multi-purpose entertainment, commercial/retail and housing district.”

The Bears don’t expect any public help for the stadium itself. That’s encouraging, because a leading appeal is team control of its own facility, and if the McCaskey family wants that autonomy it should foot the bill. However, at a proposal rollout meeting last week, Bears Chairman George McCaskey acknowledged the reality: the plan only works if built in its entirety, and the team won’t invest its entire net worth without partners.

“We will need help,” McCaskey said. “There are broad, long-term public benefits of this project, and we look forward to partnering with various governmental bodies to secure additional funding and assistance needed to support development of the remainder of the site. How much or what form this will take we do not know at this time. But we do know that without infrastructure support and property tax certainty, the project as described to you tonight will not be able to move forward.”

What McCaskey lacks is evidence of long-term public benefits equal to taxpayer investment, or the proof they can happen without a subsequent negative impact on existing bars, restaurants, housing developments and so on.

Sports radio chatters about Chicago “losing” the Bears, but the team has been practicing in Lake Forest since the late 1970s. Players and coaches live in nice suburban homes with their families. Brian Urlacher and I once carried out Mother’s Day meals from the same Olive Garden.

The Bears are an established suburban enterprise. They’ll eventually play games outside Chicago. How much Cook County residents pay for the privilege remains to be seen.

• Scott T. Holland writes about state government issues for Shaw Media. Follow him on Twitter @sth749. He can be reached at sholland@shawmedia.com.