Good morning!
I've referenced this before, but I'll bring it back up again after last night.
Remember Pat Foley's incredible rant about late-night puck drops when the Blackhawks had an 8:42 p.m. start against the Blues in the 2016 playoffs?
Last night was even worse, as the Hawks had to await the completion of the first half of TNT's hockey doubleheader. And, of course, the game went into a shootout, which didn't begin until after 11:30 p.m.
So, to pluck from the legendary Chicago broadcaster, an 8:52 p.m. puck drop serves who?
Focus shifting toward Arlington Heights
Bears CEO Kevin Warren confirmed on Wednesday from the league's annual meeting in Palm Beach, Florida, that the team was once again focused on Arlington Heights, in addition to the lakefront museum campus, as potential sites for a new stadium.
Why is this significant? This is the first time in 13 months that Warren, who had long been adamant that the focus was solely on building near the lakefront in Chicago, admitted Arlington Heights, where the Bears own 326 acres of land, was also a primary focus.
On Arlington Heights, Warren acknowledged the pre-existing Metra stop at Arlington Park as a major reason for intrigue, adding: "We can get into economic feasibility, transportation feasibility, ingress and egress, how do people get in and out of the site, [and] what else will be there. As for a vision for what else could share the land, Warren said: "It will be a mixed-use development with hotels and restaurants, other sporting events, potentially housing, but we also need to be sensitive to the surrounding communities."
On the potential use of private equity moving forward: "It's something that we're continuing to look at," Bears chairman George McCaskey said on Wednesday. "It may be utilized as part of our stadium construction financing plan, but we haven't made a decision yet."
Lots of interesting information from the annual meeting, including these tidbits about the stadium project.
As Adam Hoge put during the CHGO Bears podcast yesterday, the priority is Arlington Heights, despite Warren's unwillingness to firmly say so.
In fairness, there also isn't any benefit for the Bears to publicly rule out the downtown lakefront (or any Chicago site) until they're ready to put shovels in the ground.
Could that happen in 2025? Theoretically, yes, but the organization will have to move quickly to seek certain approvals before the state legislature breaks session in May.
The potential private equity path also lines up with a move to the suburbs, as the team would own any stadium built in Arlington Heights and would likely need significant funding to get it done.
Other nuggets from Wednesday:
The Bears sided with the Packers in their desire to see the Tush Push banned in the NFL. Why? McCaskey said, "It appears to be an inherently unsafe play." When asked about supporting a Packers-led proposal, the chairman added, "I asked the membership to not let that get out, that I supported a proposal from Team Voldemort."
The McCaskey family has no plans to sell the league's charter franchise in the wake of the passing of Virginia McCaskey. The Bears' chairman told reporters: "We've said for many years that we intend to own the Bears for as long as possible. Another 100 years would be great. [Virginia] set it up for us to accomplish that. She gave us the playbook. She coached us up. Now we've gotta execute the plan, and we're prepared to do that."
GO DEEPER: The CHGO Bears crew discussed George McCaskey's comments from Florida, including his family's future with the Bears.
Quick Hits
Stay hot, Seiya! Seiya Suzuki clubbed two more home runs against the Athletics on Wednesday as the Cubs wrapped up a clean three-game sweep in Sacramento. Chicago outscored the A's 35-9 in the set, wrapping up a seven-game road trip with a nifty 5-2 record. The Cubs finally head home to Wrigley Field, where they'll host the undefeated San Diego Padres for the weekend beginning on Friday.
Following a three-hour rain delay, the White Sox were able to squeeze in their matinee rubber match against the Twins. Sean Burke, who tossed six scoreless innings against the Angels on Opening Day last Thursday, failed to make it through five on Wednesday, surrendering six earned runs in 4.1 innings pitched, and the White Sox lost, 6-1.
Another Bulls HoFer...
CHGO Bulls @CHGO_Bulls Congrats to Bulls Legend Carmelo Anthony, elected into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame Class of 2025! #NeverForget 4:52 PM • Apr 2, 2025 3 Retweets 11 Likes |
Melo was almost traded to Chicago in 2011 and nearly signed here in 2014, but we'll always remember the Team USA legend for his ten days in the organization at the tail end of his illustrious career...
Today!
📺 CHGO Bears @ 12 on YouTube
📺 CHGO Cubs Related @ 7 on CHGO Cubs YouTube
