The Bears will host two focus groups next week to ask fans about amenities they’d like to see in a new stadium. It’s unclear if fans also will be asked for their preferences on a location for the stadium itself: the proposed lakefront site, above, or Arlington Heights.
Courtesy of Chicago Bears
The Bears will host two invite-only focus groups of season ticket holders next week in Schaumburg and downtown Chicago to solicit feedback about a new stadium.
The Tuesday and Wednesday night sessions, each expected to last about 90 minutes, will be conducted by a third-party research firm “to gather thoughts and opinions regarding potential features, amenities, and seating options that could be available at the new stadium,” according to an email invitation from team President/CEO Kevin Warren.
But will fans be asked about their preferences on a location for the new stadium — either the team’s current proposal for a dome on the Chicago lakefront, or the shelved plan at the 326-acre Arlington Park property the NFL franchise owns in Arlington Heights?
Bears spokesman Scott Hagel said Friday he didn’t have a list of the specific questions, but said the forums are likely to focus more on amenities that would be found in a stadium in general — no matter its geographic location.
“We said we’d continue to talk to different fans and elected and community leaders — this is part of that process,” Hagel said. “It’s gathering feedback. … It’ll cover a wide range of things.”
That doesn’t mean fans might not offer their opinions about Arlington Park or the lakefront stadium on their own.
Though the Bears purchased the 326-acre Arlington Park property in February 2023 and knocked down the grandstand and other structures, the club has shifted focus to trying to build a new Chicago lakefront stadium.
Paul Valade/pvalade@dailyherald.com, March 2024
Two season ticket holders from the North and Northwest suburbs told the Daily Herald they received Warren’s invitation and registered for the Tuesday night session, which will be held at an office building near Woodfield Mall.
The invite said the focus groups are for a “limited number of participants in the Chicagoland area,” and reservations were confirmed on a first-come, first-served basis.
Hagel didn’t say exactly who was invited to participate, but that season ticket holders are among those the team regularly solicits for feedback.
He said focus groups are part of the club’s “normal course of doing business.” Officials send online surveys to fans after every game and public practice during training camp at Halas Hall, Hagel added.