Lawmakers trying to ensure women’s sports aren’t left out of any Chicago Bears stadium deal

Unorthodox plan would have state set aside unspecified funding for a women’s sports stadium if public financing is OK'd for new Chicago Bears or White Sox stadiums.

As the Chicago Bears’ proposed lakefront stadium plans remain in Springfield purgatory, some Democratic lawmakers are using the opportunity to begin discussions about public funding for women’s professional sports facilities should the Bears’ plans see movement in the legislature.

An unorthodox proposal filed earlier this month, which faces long odds of passage before lawmakers are scheduled to adjourn the spring session on Friday, calls for the state to set aside an unspecified amount of funding for a women’s sports stadium if Illinois helps finance a new home for the Bears, the Chicago White Sox or any other men’s pro team.

While the legislation is ambiguous in parts and likely to change if it comes up for a legislative vote, it strikes on the issue of equity, politically popular among Democrats, that many Illinois elected officials have raised in recent months as the Bears and White Sox have come to the statehouse with their hands out.

It also comes amid a heightened interest in women’s sports and as owners of the Chicago Red Stars women’s soccer team, including Chicago Cubs co-owner Laura Ricketts, have been steadily but quietly making a case that the public could help build a new stadium for the National Women’s Soccer League club.

“Anytime we talk about anything in this building, we talk about equity,” the bill’s main sponsor, Democratic state Rep. Eva-Dina Delgado of Chicago, said during an interview in the state Capitol. “So if there were something that would come together in the future, if there was an appetite for it, we have to make sure we’re talking about it in terms of equity.”

Still, even supporters of the proposal say it is in its formative stages.

“This is, I think, a very nuanced situation,” said co-sponsoring Rep. Kam Buckner, a Chicago Democrat whose district includes both Soldier Field where the Bears play and the nearby land where the team wants to build a domed stadium and outdoor lakefront pavilion. “And so because there are still more questions than answers, because this is different, we’ve got to take our time and get it right.”

The most important part is for women’s sports to be a part of the conversation, he added.

In its current form, Delgado’s proposal would require the Illinois Sports Facilities Authority — which holds hundreds of millions of dollars of debt related to the construction of Guaranteed Rate Field three decades ago and the renovation of Soldier Field two decades ago — to issue “some bonds … to fund facilities for professional women’s sports” if any future bonds are issued for any men’s team.

If there was no ongoing women’s stadium project at the time, those funds would be reserved for future use, according to the proposed legislation.

Such an arrangement, including selling bonds for an unspecified purpose, is relatively untested, a bond expert said. It also likely would require even more tweaks to state law to become reality.

“I don’t recall seeing a provision like this with other entities we rate,” said Eric Kim, a senior director with Fitch Ratings who covers Illinois.

While the proposed structure wouldn’t necessarily have “direct credit implications” for ISFA or the state, there could be other issues at play, Kim said.

“There are IRS rules about how quickly tax-exempt bond proceeds must be spent so that might be a limiting factor here,” he said.

As for whether Gov. J.B. Pritzker would support Delgado’s proposal, the governor “believes everyone deserves a seat at the table and remains open to discussions about how to make that possible,” spokeswoman Olivia Kuncio said. “He will thoroughly review any bill the General Assembly sends to his desk.”

Pritzker has been highly skeptical of providing public assistance for the Bears’ nearly $5 billion plan for a domed stadium on a revamped lakefront south of Soldier Field — a proposal his office called a “non-starter” in its current form after a meeting earlier this month — and a new White Sox stadium on The 78 development south of Roosevelt Road along the Chicago River.

But the governor has taken a friendlier tone toward Chicago’s women’s soccer club while also remaining noncommittal.

When asked last month about the Bears’ request for more than $2 billion in public support for its stadium and related infrastructure improvements, Pritzker replied, “What about women’s sports?

“Very little has been talked about, about the Red Stars, for example, who have asked to be heard on this subject.”

In addition to getting a cold shoulder from Pritzker, the Bears’ plan also has received a cool reception from House and Senate leaders in Springfield after being unveiled last month with great fanfare and a ringing endorsement from Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson.

Though state legislation has yet to be introduced, the Bears’ plan calls for ISFA to issue $900 million in bonds for the lakefront stadium, refinance about $430 million in its existing debt for previous projects, and take out about $160 million more to set up a so-called liquidity fund. The fund is supposed to cushion the city of Chicago from future shortfalls in revenue from the 2% city hotel tax that was established when ISFA was created to cover the cost of the borrowing.

The Bears’ plan, which would require legislative approval, calls for the debt repayment to be stretched out over 40 years. Should that happen, the project could be paid for without raising the hotel tax, according to the Bears, who plan to contribute $2.3 billion in private financing for the stadium portion of the project.

All of that borrowing would leave little, if any, room for additional bonding to pay for a Red Stars or a White Sox stadium project. And that’s part of the issue Delgado’s proposal seeks to address.

“The intent here is to say, if at any point in the future there is a decision made to increase bonding, to put together any kind of stadium deal, that we are talking about equity as we move forward,” she said.

In response to questions about ISFA’s position on the proposal, CEO Frank Bilecki wrote in an email: “Throughout the United States, there is growing momentum to develop facilities specifically for women’s professional sports teams. The Chicago Red Stars presented a thoughtful presentation on their plans for a new stadium to the Illinois Sports Facilities Authority and we look forward to further discussions with the Red Stars.”

In a statement, Red Stars President Karen Leetzow thanked Delgado and the proposal’s other supporters for “fighting for equity to ensure that women’s professional sports teams always have a seat at the table when there are discussions about public/private partnerships.”

“Over the last century, as local and state governments have invested in professional sports stadiums, women’s professional teams have never been included,” Leetzow said.

The Red Stars currently play at SeatGeek Stadium in Bridgeview, a publicly financed facility originally built for the Chicago Fire men’s soccer team.

Debt incurred for construction of the stadium, completed in 2006, has long strained the village of Bridgeview’s finances, though payments from the Fire to buy out its lease after the team decamped for Soldier Field ahead of the 2020 season have at least temporarily eased the burden.

The current state budget includes $4 million in capital funding for improvements to SeatGeek Stadium, though none of the money has been released to the village, according to the state comptroller’s office.

Chicago Tribune’s Olivia Olander contributed. Gorner reported from Springfield.