Chicago May Get Stadium With Dome

Gov. James R. Thompson and Mayor Richard M. Daley reportedly are backing plans for a new domed stadium to house the Chicago Bears and serve as a magnet for major political and sporting events, such as the Super Bowl.

The Chicago Tribune reported in today’s editions that the Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority, which would build the dome, has hired lawyers and appraisers to examine a site a few blocks south of Soldier Field, current home of the Bears.

While Bears President Michael McCaskey has resisted the idea of a domed stadium, he recently has modified his position, a move that has put plans for the new stadium in high gear, the newspaper said.

“We’re going to explore the dome and see what can be done to make it an exciting place to watch football,” McCaskey said Thursday.

“We’re not wildly enthusiastic about it,” he said. “But the politicians feel strongly that only a structure with a lid can be justified from a public standpoint.”

Thompson and Daley apparently have convinced McCaskey that a dome, located close to Chicago’s McCormick Place convention center, is the team’s only chance for a taxpayer-subsidized stadium.

The Tribune said that Thompson and Daley will downplay the Bears when they present the plans for a domed stadium to lawmakers in Springfield this spring.

Instead, they will emphasize its attraction as a home for events like political conventions, the Super Bowl, or the NCAA’s “Final Four” basketball playoffs.