The mayor of Waukegan has sent a letter to the Chicago Bears pitching them on building their new stadium in Waukegan following news that the team is exploring its options.
Waukegan Mayor Ann Taylor sent the letter on Monday to Chicago Bears President and CEO Kevin Warren.
“It has come to my attention that the Chicago Bears are no longer singularly focused on redeveloping Arlington Park as the franchise’s new home. With this knowledge, it is incumbent on me as Mayor of Waukegan to make you aware of the City of Waukegan’s opportunities, advantages, and history with the Bears organization,” Taylor said.
Taylor boasted about the city being along Lake Michigan and the availability of multiple large parcels that could be developed into the “state-of-the-art stadium and entertainment district” the team is looking for.
Waukegan is within 20 minutes of the team’s practice facility Halas Hall in Lake Forest.
“In addition to the availability of land controlled by the City of Waukegan, the City also has excellent transportation infrastructure as Waukegan is located along Interstate 94 and U.S. Route 41, a major stop on Metra’s Union Pacific North Line, and is home to Waukegan National Airport,” Taylor said.
The mayor mentioned in her letter that Waukegan was previously home to the Bears’ winter training facility in the early 1990s.
“For generations, Bears players have called Lake County their home, including the neighboring towns of Lake Forest, Lake Bluff, Libertyville, Gurnee, Vernon Hills, Mettawa, and others. Some members of the Bears organization currently live in my neighborhood in Waukegan,” Taylor said.
The mayor said that the city is “making unprecedented progress” with over a half billion dollars of economic development projects underway.
“Our working class and diverse community is as tough as the 1985 Super Bowl-winning Bears, and our leadership team at Waukegan City Hall is as aggressive as Justin Fields running the ball downfield when it comes to creating economic opportunities for our City, our residents, and the region at large,” Taylor said.
She invited the Chicago Bears leadership team to visit Waukegan to discuss the potential partnership.
The team earlier this year completed their purchase of Arlington Park in Arlington Heights and has begun demolition at the property.
Earlier this month, the Bears said the proposed Arlington Heights stadium development was “no longer our singular focus” and said they were exploring other municipalities in the Chicagoland to build their new stadium.