MUSEUM CAMPUS — A new garage will be built near Soldier Field to replace the parking that will be gobbled up by the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art.
The Lucas Museum, which was given final approval by the Chicago Park District Board Wednesday, will be built on the 1,500-space parking South Lot near Soldier Field. It plans to pay $40 million to build the new public parking garage nearby, the Chicago Park District said.
The new 1,863-space parking garage would sit just west of Lake Shore Drive and just south of 18th Street, officials said. The lot would be located at a site that currently has a smaller surface lot and a turnaround where shuttle buses drop off fans heading to Bears games. The land is currently owned by Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority, which will lease the land to the Park District, officials said.
The proposed 18th St. garage site shown near the Waldron Deck. [Lucas Museum]
The agreement with the Lucas museum would meet "their obligations to replace all parking being used for the museum building and green space," Jessica Maxey-Faulkner, a park district spokeswoman, said in a statement.
The Lucas Museum will also have its own underground parking garage for museum patrons as well as an outdoor "event prairie" tailgating lawn fit for up to 560 cars next to the museum.
However, the news is a mixed bag for Bears fans, who will lose one of their best tailgating venues, the South Lot, once the museum gets built. Rob Rejman, the park district's director of planning and construction, said officials were still "contemplating" whether to allow tailgating on the top level of the new garage. If it's not allowed, that means there would be about 1,000 fewer tailgate spots for games. 
Maxey-Faulkner said any parking revenue from Lucas Museum visitors will be split between the museum and park district until the museum recoups the garage's $40 million in construction costs. The park district will then receive all subsequent parking revenue from the garage.
The number of Bears tailgating spots have been greatly reduced over the years. The spots, which have a face value of $49, are sold via a lottery to season ticket holders before the season starts. But they are in such high demand they often sell for several times that amount or more on the secondary market.
In addition, the Bears and Park District also sell premium spots for $106 per game.
Parking charges at the new structure weren't immediately available.
Among other areas, Bears fans can also park near Soldier Field by Adler Planetarium, which has more than 600 spaces, and also at Burnham Harbor. The North Garage has 2,500 spots, but tailgating is restricted there and many of its spots are given to fans with tickets to skyboxes, employees and players.
The existing 1,600-space Waldron Deck garage, between Waldron Drive and 18th Street, will remain, said Luca Serra, a Soldier Field spokesman. Tailgating, however, is only allowed on the top level of the two-story lot.
The Lucas Museum is still subject to a federal lawsuit filed by a local parks group. If built, the museum is expected to open in 2019-2020.
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