The city of Chicago's mayoral committee plans to recommend a dome atop Soldier Field along with other stadium enhancements, according to a report from Crain's Chicago Business.
The improvements estimate a need for a taxpayer subsidy between $400 million and $1.5 billion, according to the report released Tuesday night.
The report mentions there could be other upgrades made to the stadium, such as rebuilding other parts of the stadium.
While the mayoral committee is attempting to sweeten the deal of their football team staying put at the historic field, it is likely too late.
The Bears are expected to close on the Arlington Heights race track property they won the bid on back in September. The closing of deal is expected to happen in later 2022 or early 2023.
The organization is under contract to remain at Soldier Field through 2033, however they could terminate the contract with a penalty of around $84 million if they do it before 2026.
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Mayor Lori Lightfoot stated initial thoughts on the situation back in June of 2021 saying, "In addition, this announcement from the Bears comes in the midst of negotiations for improvements at Soldier Field. This is clearly a negotiating tactic that the Bears have used before. As a season ticket holder and longtime Bears fan, I am committed to keeping the ‘Chicago’ name in our football team.
"And like most Bears fans, we want the organization to focus on putting a winning team on the field, beating the Packers finally, and being relevant past October. Everything else is just noise," Lightfoot said.
The city is making a valiant attempt to keep the Bears on the museum campus, but it likely won't be enough to keep Bears ownership from closing in on building a new, lucrative stadium.