By: Ashmar Mandou
This week, City of Chicago announced proposals for renovations of the historic Soldier Field. These proposals come recommendations made by the Mayor’s Museum Campus Working Group. “An improved Soldier Field will deliver a world-class visitor experience,” said Mayor Lightfoot. “Furthermore, any of these proposed renovations will allow Soldier Field to retain its role as an economic engine for Chicago for years to come, as these changes will allow us to keep bringing sports, music and other exciting events to our city.”
Earlier this month, the Museum Campus Working Group published its report, Where Worlds Connect, detailing key analysis and recommendations to enhance the Museum Campus. The Working Group was chaired by Richard Price, Executive Chairman of Mesirow. “I am excited to share these proposals for Soldier Field,” said Richard S. Price, Executive Chairman of Mesirow. “Any of these options has enormous potential to spur economic growth for Chicago and contribute to making the Museum Campus a global, year-round destination.” Led by Landmark Development and its president, Bob Dunn, this team of stadium engineers, designers, has developed options to maximize the square footage of Soldier Field, which include:
• Option 1: Fully enclose the stadium by rebuilding both endzones with columns that can support a dome structure.
• Option 2: Rebuild both endzones with columns to make the stadium dome ready.
• Option 3: Modify Soldier Field to be a multi-purpose stadium better suited for soccer while improving its flexibility to accommodate major concerts and a range of events.
All options include major programmatic changes and concourse space improvements and, most importantly, preserve historical components of Soldier Field including the colonnades. The cost will approximately range from $900M to $2.2B – significantly less costly than building a new stadium. Additional measures include:
• Expand seating from 61,500 seats up to 70,000 total seats including additional fan activation areas.
• Increase the number of traditional suites from 133 to 140.
• Add six new major club and experiential areas, none of which exist in Soldier Field as it stands today.
• Quadruple the food and beverage square footage from 50,000 sq ft to 200,000 sq ft.
• Dramatically expand the opportunity for major sponsorships and naming rights.
