American studio Manica Architecture designed the new home of the National Football League team, the Chicago Bears. The Bears wanted this project to be a new, best-in-class enclosed stadium with a multipurpose recreational area in a cultural campus, and committed to contribute over $2 billion. The new stadium will be located along Lake Michigan in Chicago which also brings some criticism by being such a large-scale project on the lakefront.
This project aims to showcase Chicago’s potential to host major sports and entertainment events, driving tourism and unlocking billions in economic impact for the region. New visuals released by Manica demonstrate a large recreational campus with the main stadium distinguished by a translucent roof. The project, which has large open public green spaces, aims to create safe and verdant public spaces where families can gather and spend quality time. The recreational campus, centered around a new state-of-the-art stadium, aims to improve the already thriving downtown area. It will also strengthen connections to the nearby museums and serve as a more engaging and dynamic cultural destination that can be enjoyed year-round. This will attract both residents and visitors to a more vibrant community.
The stadium’s fixed translucent roof design is similar to Manica Architecture’s previous designs for the Raiders’ Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas and the Titans’ Nissan Stadium in Nashville, Tennessee. Another distinguished feature of the design is the multi-story glass facade that opens to the large public plaza and Chicago skyline. By creating a monumental-scale building and a public plaza, the project is expected to be one of the largest construction projects in Illinois’ history.
According to The Bears’ current home stadium, Soldier Field, the studio said: “Soldier Field will be restored to its original grandeur with open athletic fields for community use. The historic colonnade, honoring the military men and women who have served our country, will be preserved and publicly accessible.”
The new stadium’s construction, on the other hand, is expected to break in the summer of 2025, with an anticipated opening date of 2028.
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