Emanuel Considering Making Soldier Field Almost Suitable For Hosting A Super Bowl
By Chuck Sudo in News on Mar 5, 2014 4:20PM
Here’s the latest entry in Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s attempts to turn Chicago into a “world class city.” The mayor and Chicago Park District are reportedly eyeing the possibility of Chicago bidding to host a future Super Bowl and are in the preliminary stages of looking at a 5,000-seat expansion of Soldier Field. Apparently the success of Super Bowl XLVIII in the New York/New Jersey area at outdoor MetLife Stadium has the mayor and other city officials thinking “why not us?”
We’ll list the reasons why not in a moment but first let’s hear what Emanuel had to say about the reports.
“The goal is to find a decision that moves the city forward. You don't measure it that way. Would a Super Bowl be good for the city and good for the NFL? I think yes. Would having the NFL draft here be good for the city and for the NFL? The answer is yes. The goal is to have a discussion,” Emanuel said.
Soldier Field‘s interior was torn down and rebuilt within its (no longer a) landmark colonnades 11 years ago and with a seating capacity of 61,500 is the smallest stadium in the NFL. To even receive consideration to host a Super Bowl the Park District would have to add an extra 8,500 seats to reach the league’s preferred minimum for hosting the game. New York had other advantages such as being the nation’s largest media market, MetLife Stadium’s 82,000-plus seating capacity, unseasonably mild weather on game day and the influence of NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell to host the game there. It’s one thing to host a Super Bowl in the New Jersey marshland, another thing completely to host a Super Bowl along Lake Michigan in a markedly smaller outdoor stadium where the weather along the lakefront can make playing conditions unpredictable. Unless the city plans on adding at least 8,500 more seats and erecting a giant tarp over the stadium, a Super Bowl in Chicago is like springtime right now—a dream.
It’s also unknown how the city would pay for an expansion of Soldier Field. Moody’s downgraded Chicago’s bond rating yet again Monday which would make it harder for the city to borrow money for such a project. Mayoral spokeswoman Sarah Hamilton said nothing is set in stone yet and that the “exploration” is as much about maximizing revenue from other events at Soldier field like summer concerts and the NHL Stadium Series game last weekend between the Blackhawks and Pittsburgh Penguins.
"The mayor always wants to explore options to see what is possible, this is the same. It's an exploration, nothing more," Hamilton said.