Developers unveiled a $10 billion proposal on Thursday to build a 100-acre district featuring a 75,000-seat domed stadium at the former Michael Reese Hospital site in Bronzeville to keep the Chicago Bears in the city.
A group of Chicago developers pitched the sweeping Bronzeville Lakefront megaproject on November 12, 2026, combining the former Michael Reese Hospital property with the Prairie Shores apartment complex and air rights over the McCormick Place Marshaling Yard.
Bronzeville Lakefront Stadium Plan Details
Led by Capri Investment Group and GRIT Chicago, the 100-acre development plan centers on a publicly owned domed stadium designed to house the Chicago Bears. The project also incorporates more than 5,000 residential units, including at least 1,000 affordable and senior housing spaces, alongside hotels, recreational facilities and housing that would bring an economic boon to Bronzeville.
“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,” said Quintin Primo III, founder and executive chairman of Capri Investment Group.
Primo added that the downtown-adjacent site provides common-sense economic advantages over remote alternatives.
Capri Investment Group Offers to Buy Bears Property
As Illinois lawmakers prepare for the fall veto session starting November 17, 2026, in Springfield, the Bronzeville proposal joins separate discussions regarding state stadium financing legislation. Capri Investment Group stated readiness to purchase the Bears’ property at the former Arlington Park racetrack site in Arlington Heights—purchased by the team in 2023 for $197 million—to remove obstacles keeping the franchise from considering a Chicago location.
Local support for the initiative includes Chicago 4th Ward Alderman Lamont Robinson, whose ward encompasses the hospital site.
“I believe with everything I have, it’s the right thing for the 4th ward. And the right thing for Chicago and the bears,” Robinson said.
Developers Propose Sites to Overcome Previous Bears Rejections
The Bears previously dismissed the Michael Reese property due to narrow site dimensions and safety concerns regarding nearby railroad tracks. Developers hope to overcome those footprint limitations by incorporating Prairie Shores and the McCormick Place Marshaling Yard.
The Bronzeville presentation follows an alternate South Side proposal revealed by Related Midwest, which pitched a domed stadium at the former U.S. Steel site on the city’s South Side.
The overall vision encompasses approximately 100 acres that include and surround the former hospital site within the Douglas neighborhood. Developers project about $14 billion in regional economic activity during its development, with about 60,000 construction-related jobs. The community benefits agreement tied to the proposal specifies that affected residents would receive priority for new comparable units at equal rent for a minimum of five years, with guarantees that no existing buildings would be touched until replacement housing is under construction.
Separately, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, Bears President and CEO Kevin Warren, and Bears Chairman George McCaskey met with Illinois legislative leaders in Chicago regarding potential stadium legislation in Springfield. The team has maintained that the former Arlington Heights racetrack site and Hammond, Indiana, are its current options for a new stadium while continuing to work collaboratively with local and state leaders in Indiana to advance development plans in Hammond.
“It's going to make our city better and it's going to make our state better,” Related Midwest CEO Curt Bailey said.
Earlier coverage: Illinois Leaders Discuss Stadium Legislation With Bears