Infrastructure for the Bears Stadium project requires public funding

If the Bears go ahead with their stadium plans in Arlington Heights, they will need public support just for the infrastructure, not the stadium.

The Bears unveiled a little more about their possible stadium project for the Arlington Park site Thursday night at a public meeting in Arlington Heights.

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They have reiterated that they will not seek public funds to fund the stadium itself.

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The Bears board chairman, George McCaskey, and CEO Ted Phillips, acknowledged they couldn't reveal much about the stadium's structure.

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As the project hasn't advanced far enough for such specifics, they did know it would be a permanent domed stadium rather than a retractable one.

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Although Phillips and McCaskey said they cannot yet be confident of the stadium's seating capacity, they made it clear that they will not seek government money to build the stadium itself.

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To pay for the infrastructure, such as roads and sewerage, they most likely would require some sort of public money.

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McCaskey stated that the stadium idea will be unable to move ahead without publicly supported infrastructure.

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The other tax problem at hand is the tax load on residents.

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