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imported_PeanutTillman · 12-23-2005, 11:20 AM

Quote:

Daley floats stadium plan
Mayor hopes to lure 2nd football team, Olympics to Chicago

By Kathy Bergen
Published December 23, 2005

Looking for ways to build a domed stadium to enhance a possible bid for the 2016 Olympics, Mayor Richard Daley has privately floated the idea of trying to lure a second NFL team to Chicago, sources close to the situation told the Tribune.

A new stadium that could hold at least 80,000 people is among many facilities expected to be required of an Olympics host city. A stadium that large could open the door to other high-profile sporting events, including the NCAA Final Four basketball tournament as well as the Super Bowl. The city doesn't have an indoor facility large enough to hold such events.

A stadium also would be used for opening and closing ceremonies at the Olympics, as well as track and field events. Such a facility could cost between $600 million and $1 billion to construct, observers say.

The renovated Soldier Field seats 61,500, the second-smallest capacity in the NFL.

A second NFL team would be a long shot. The league's top priority is to try to keep the New Orleans Saints in their hurricane-battered hometown. After that, Los Angeles, a city without an NFL team, is viewed as next in line for any franchise transplant or expansion.

And any team that would consider Chicago most likely would have to pay a hefty fee to the Chicago Bears to compensate for moving into their territory.

"This sounds like the ultimate trial balloon that turns into a lead zeppelin," said Terry Lefton, editor-at-large for Sports Business Journal, when told of the local discussions.

Still, the mayor is known for following through on grand plans, most recently with the creation of Millennium Park. And unlike in 1997, when he opted against making a bid for the 2008 Olympics, Daley is seriously considering a bid for the 2016 Summer Games.

"Chicago really has grown as a world-class city and has shown that our business community is willing to step up to the plate on big projects," said Jodi Kawada, deputy press secretary to the mayor. "So, we're well-positioned to take on an event like the Olympics."

Asked whether Daley would like to bring in another NFL team as a way to get a new stadium, she said, "I've not heard anything about that." Daley was unavailable for comment.

A handful of city business leaders say they have heard about it.

"He threw it out as one possibility," said a prominent businessman who has had private conversations with the mayor. "He'd love to have a second team in Chicago."

So far, the remarks seem to be "pie in the sky" thinking, said the businessman, who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

But Daley has been tossing around the idea, at least in a casual way, with a number of business leaders as he scouts for a corporate executive to take a leadership role in a possible bid for the Olympics.

Just last week he brought up the idea during a lunch meeting with a small group of business leaders, according to one source who was briefed on the meeting.

At the same meeting, he also suggested building a stadium on a site near the University of Illinois at Chicago, so it could be used later by that institution, the source said.

The idea of importing another football team hasn't reached the NFL, which on Thursday said it had heard nothing of it. A decision to move a team would require a favorable vote by 24 of 32 team owners.

One big hurdle for a second team would be trying to negotiate within the NFL broadcasting contract given the potential conflicting game schedules.

Chicago has a history as a two-team football town. It hosted the Chicago Cardinals from 1922 to 1959 at Comiskey Park. That team then moved to St. Louis and later to Phoenix.

People familiar with the city's discussions about a possible Olympic bid said Daley is insisting that a stadium and other facilities, such as an Olympic village housing complex for athletes, not become white elephants when the games are over.

"If it is a concept that really entails reusable or sustainable buildings, facilities, then he'd be fully behind it," one source said.

Other key factors will be whether outside funding is available, and whether the games would rejuvenate large areas of the city, the source said.

The U.S. Olympic Committee is expected to revise bidding requirements after the Winter Games in Turin, Italy, in February. Chicago officials intend to meet with the USOC at that point, said Michael Segobiano, the mayoral aide who is coordinating the city's efforts.

"Then, we'll have a better understanding of the expectations of a 2016 host city," he said, "and at that point we can proceed to do a more comprehensive review."

As far as the NFL is concerned, several teams are viewed as candidates for possible moves, observers say.

"The obvious one is New Orleans," said Sports Business Journal's Lefton.

Teams in older stadiums are other possibilities, he said, citing the Minnesota Vikings, the Miami Dolphins and the San Francisco 49ers.

But Chicago's chances of winning another team are slim to none, Lefton said.

"The NFL wants to keep the Saints in New Orleans and to put a team in L.A.," he said. "From a league perspective, those priorities are much higher than an additional team in Chicago.

One local observer questions whether it makes economic sense for Chicago to invest in another stadium.

"Stadiums are used too few hours a year to make it profitable," said Allen Sanderson, a sports economist at the University of Chicago. "They only exist because municipalities prop them up financially.

"If Chicago had a second team, it would be utter stupidity if it weren't forced to play in the same facility."

Sanderson, who considers the renovation of Soldier Field a "huge mistake," said, "It's too small for the city and for the Olympics."

Preparing a city for an Olympics is a very expensive proposition, and cost overruns are the norm, Sanderson said. Athens, for example, ended up with costs of $14.6 billion for the 2004 Games, more than double the original estimate of $5.9 billion, he said. He added that overruns can lead to debt obligations for extended periods.

In the short run, Olympics "almost uniformly end up costing more and producing less than a city thought," said Carl Tannenbaum, chief economist at LaSalle Bank.

"What a city is speculating on is that the Olympics will raise its profile to the point, through increased tourism and convention business, that it pays for itself," he said. "Essentially, it's a major marketing investment a city hopes will pay off in the long run. And that's hard to measure."

In the coming months, the city will be analyzing whether a bid makes economic sense.

In the column of positives, said mayoral press aide Kawada, would be "thousands of new jobs and new infrastructure. It would benefit the city long after the games."

This is a Bear's town Mr. Daley.

mmmc_35 · 12-24-2005, 01:35 PM

editing post.

mmmc_35 · 12-24-2005, 01:40 PM

Yah and in Chicago another team would sputter terribly. Who would go? Seriously any new team Chicago fans would be stoned. The player’s ostracized. It would create pandemonium. Dogs and cats living together, its pandemonium out there people. Seriously who would like Chicago dirt bags? No one, that’s who.

imported_dirtbag · 12-26-2005, 02:25 PM

i'd like the dirtbags....

GOLIONS1180 · 12-26-2005, 03:22 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by mmmc_35@Dec 24th '05 @ 12:40 pm
Yah and in Chicago another team would sputter terribly. Who would go? Seriously any new team Chicago fans would be stoned. The player’s ostracized. It would create pandemonium. Dogs and cats living together, its pandemonium out there people. Seriously who would like Chicago dirt bags? No one, that’s who.

It'd be just like White Sox games.

That would be pretty interesting. I always wondered what it would be like to have a second team in Detroit or anywhere in the whole state, in ANY sport. Im sure we could support it too.

Hordak · 12-26-2005, 04:58 PM

There's no reason why Chicago couldn't support another team. It would take a while, but the new team would eventually have it's own fanbase, just like the Mets do. Some cities could support two teams in various sports.