Michael Reese developers pitch $10 billion stadium project to lure Bears - Chicago Sun-Times

A development team led by Capri Investment Group founder Quintin Primo III and GRIT Chicago presented the Bronzeville Lakefront proposal on Thursday, spanning roughly 100 acres from the old Michael Reese campus to the Prairie Shores apartment complex and air rights over the McCormick Place Marshaling Yard. The plan centers on a publicly owned, 75,000-seat domed stadium and includes more than 5,000 residential units, at least 1,000 designated as affordable and senior housing, a 28-acre public park, about 2,000 hotel rooms, a youth sports complex, a health and wellness center, and expanded McCormick Place convention space. Developers also propose new transit connections, including a 29th Street Metra station and a new CTA Green Line stop.

The footprint addresses a key objection the Bears raised in 2025 when they dismissed an earlier $3.2 billion Bronzeville concept, citing the site's narrow dimensions and safety concerns from adjacent railroad tracks. By incorporating Prairie Shores and the marshaling yard air rights, the expanded plan aims to eliminate those constraints. The Prairie Shores portion could require demolishing up to 1,000 existing apartments, but developers pledged to build 1,500 replacement units first and provide tenant protections.

Primo argued the central location would outperform suburban alternatives. "It is our belief that a modern, competitive dome stadium such as the one that we are proposing will outperform suburban locations such as Arlington Heights or northwest Indiana," he said at the news conference. "This is just plain common sense in our opinion as these remote locations are not at the heart of the most important economic driver of the entire midwest and Chicago." Capri also offered to purchase the Bears' 326-acre Arlington Heights property if that holding is an obstacle to a Chicago deal.

Ald. Lamont Robinson (4th) endorsed the project with conditions. "Bronzeville is one of Chicago's most historically significant communities, and its future deserves investment equal to that legacy," Robinson said in a release. "A development that combines substantial housing investment with transportation improvements, jobs, new businesses and public amenities has the potential to benefit neighborhoods far beyond this site. But its success must also be measured by how we protect existing residents, ensure meaningful community participation and make certain that the people who live here share in those benefits."

Financing would combine private investment, contributions from the Bears, potential Illinois Sports Facilities Authority bonds, and public infrastructure funding. Zeb McLaurin, CEO of McLaurin Development Partners and a GRIT Chicago member, did not say whether developers had met with the Bears or Mayor Brandon Johnson. The team did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The proposal arrives as state legislators prepare for a veto session next week to consider stadium financing legislation, after previous sessions failed to produce a deal. A competing Chicago site — the former U.S. Steel property on the Southeast Side — has also been pitched in recent days, giving lawmakers multiple city options to weigh against the team's suburban pursuit.