Updated: City Council Approves Lakefront Lucas Museum

By Kate Shepherd in News on Oct 28, 2015 6:30PM

Latest design (Lucas Museum of Narrative Art)

Updated: 1:40 p.m. The City Council has approved plans for a lakefront Lucas Museum of Narrative Art, on the heels of a deal between the Bears and the Chicago Park District over the museum's location.

The lakefront museum is slated to be built on 17 acres of city land near Soldier Field.

The Bears had been holding out for a better deal on game-day parking and tailgating space from the new neighbor, according to the Sun-Times. Negotiations with the NFL team over those issues were delaying the City Council's final vote on the museum, but the council voted to approve the museum Wednesday afternoon.

There will be 200 new tailgating spots under the new agreement, increasing the number from 3,161 to 3,361. The spots on Soldier Field's south parking lot will be moved to the new "event prairie" fit for 560 cars on top of a new parking garage next to the museum and other locations around the Museum Campus.

There will be an addition 1,300 parking spots for Bears fans, increasing the total from from 6,500 to 7,800. At least 1,500 parking spots will be available in the new parking garage. During the museum's construction, roughly the same number of parking spots will be available as there currently are.

The new deal will also allow the Bears to increase advertising in and around the field, which they say will help pay for stadium improvements.

Bears spokesman Scott Hagel told the Sun-Times last week that, "delivering the best Soldier Field experience for our season ticket holders and Bears fans remains our priority."