Bears' Soldier Field Dome Proposals Revealed by Mayor; Could Cost $2.2B

The Bears will play at a renovated Soldier Field for years to come if the mayor's plan pans out.

The team agreed to purchase the now-shuttered Arlington International Racecourse in the northwest suburb of Arlington Heights, but Lightfoot introduced proposals to potentially keep the team where it is and possibly add a dome to Soldier Field.

Dana Rebik @DanaRebikWGN

Mayor Lightfoot introduces 3 concepts for future of Soldier Field: building a dome, keeping open air but dome ready, or multi-purpose concept. First 2 would increase capacity from 61,500 to 70,000 @WGNNews pic.twitter.com/dSsPcVXIVx

Larry Hawley @HawleySports

Here are the released renderings of a proposed "Dome" renovation of Soldier Field released by the Mayor's office today. There are three possible renovations for the stadium - two of which include the expansion of the stadium to 70,000. @WGNNews pic.twitter.com/oYiBPVNVyi

Keeping the stadium open-air and adding a dome would increase capacity from 61,500 to 70, according to Dana Rebik.

Even if the Bears move to Arlington Heights, the stadium could still be renovated to host college football games and other events.

The Chicago Sun-Times reported that adding a dome to Soldier Field could cost up to $2.2 billion, while Rebik noted that developer Bob Dunn said the dome would save $1 to 1.5 billion.

Soldier field needs to be invested in. Soldier Field needs to be a year-round destination. The fan experience needs to be improved. We want to do that. The Bears should stay in Chicago. We agree that they want a tier one stadium.

The team pointed to the agreement it signed to purchase the Arlington International Racecourse as the reason for the restatement.

According to the statement, the only project the Bears are exploring is Arlington Park. While under contract with the seller of the property, we are not pursuing alternative stadium deals, including renovations to Soldier Field.

It wasn't long ago that she used the situation as a chance to poke fun at the franchise, and that's noteworthy.

"Like most Bears fans, we want the organization to focus on putting a winning team on the field, beating the Packers finally and being relevant past October," the mayor said.

The Bears can break their lease with Soldier Field early in the future for a fee.