With the Chicago Bears exploring suburban options beyond Arlington Heights as a site for a new stadium, Richton Park is making its pitch to the team.
In a recent letter to Bears President and CEO Kevin Warren, Richton Park Mayor Rick Reinbold touts large expanses of available land and the south suburb’s proximity to highways and the Metra Electric Line.
“I understand how the complexity of completing a stadium deal at the former Arlington Park site can be frustrating,” Reinbold told Warren in the July 21 letter. “Allow me to interest you in greenfield opportunities awaiting the Bears in Richton Park!”
The Bears, in a statement, did not comment specifically about Richton Park’s proposal and reiterated what the team has said in recent weeks about a possible new site.
“It is our responsibility to listen to other municipalities in Chicagoland about potential locations that can deliver on this transformational opportunity for our fans, our club and the State of Illinois,” the organization said.
Work is proceeding to demolish Arlington International Racecourse in Arlington Heights, but suburbs including Aurora and Naperville are also interested in hosting the team.
Warren has said recently that Arlington Heights is “not a singular focus” for the team as it considers alternatives to remaining at Chicago’s Soldier Field.
In his letter, Reinbold describes Richton Park, with a population of about 13,000, as a “lively and diverse community” 30 minutes southwest of the Loop.
He said about 1,000 acres of largely undeveloped land is available west of Interstate 57, which would “offer the best chance at creative development.”
The suburb is “the center of a prosperous trade area” and “sits in the middle of an affluent middle- and upper-middle class swath of the south and southwest suburbs,” the mayor told the Bears executive.
Reinbold said Richton Park and neighboring communities including Frankfort, Matteson and Olympia Fields “have a combined median household income of $98,000, well above the region’s $81,000 figure.”
He said Tuesday he had discussed with village staff the idea of reaching out to the team.
“We thought we would throw our hat in the ring and see if we get a response,” which has not come yet, Reinbold said. “They’re looking and why not look in the Southland?”
Reinbold said available land sits both north and south of Sauk Trail and, depending on the team’s needs, assembly of parcels would be needed.
“I think it’s a unique opportunity,” he said. “We would love to get them out here for a tour.”
Should the Bears commit to a site in the south suburbs, the “economic impact for the entire Chicago Southland would be tremendous not only in attracting new business opportunities” but creating jobs at existing businesses, said Jim Garrett, president and chief executive of the Chicago Southland Convention & Visitors Bureau.
Lincoln-Way High School District 210 Board members discussed the idea of pitching the use of the shuttered Lincoln-Way North High School as a site the Bears might consider, but no proposal was made to the team, Superintendent R. Scott Tingley said Tuesday.
The school, 19900 S. Harlem Ave., Frankfort, closed in 2016, eight years after it opened.
The Arlington Park site is 326 acres, but Tingley said that North is 90 acres and far too small to accommodate something on the scale of a stadium and ancillary needs such as parking.
The school has been eyed for uses including a regional hub for state agencies and a state police crime lab.
“We talked and are open to discussions for any particular use, but the use for a large-scale professional sports facility is just not practical because of the limited size,” Tingley said.
While the Tinley Park-Park District is in line to acquire the 280-acre former Tinley Park Mental Health Center, the district has not indicated any intent to approach the Bears about a potential stadium site.
Legislation that would transfer the site, northwest of the intersection of Harlem Avenue and 183rd Street, to the district for $1 is awaiting Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s signature, and the Park District initially plans to redevelop 90 acres to include a soccer field, multipurpose sports fields and accessible playground.
The district did not respond to a request for comment Tuesday regarding its plans in light of Richton Park’s announcement.
mnolan@tribpub.com
