CHICAGO — Bears President and CEO Ted Phillips hinted at upgrades to Soldier Field and said construction on the Lucas Museum could take three years.
Phillips, speaking on WBBM-AM 780 in a segment broadcasted Tuesday night, said he's not sure how long construction on the museum could take or "how interfering" it could be for the Bears, but he's heard it could take up three years.
The team plans to build a 1,863-space parking garage near Soldier Field as the Lucas Museum takes up its former 1,500-space parking lot. The construction will be worth it for fans, Phillips said.
"At the end of the day, we felt that by having additional parking, additional tailgating and having some really good dialogue with city agencies … that we might even get to the point where the flow of traffic has improved a bit, or at least isn’t worse than it is now,” Phillips said.
And the Bears are looking into other improvements at Soldier Field, Phillips said: They're considering new premium seating ideas, looking at creating a more plaza or park-like environment for fans on the north and south sides of the stadium and potentially widening the concourse and adding concession stands and restrooms. Phillips said the Bears would pick up the tab for those projects.
But, the Bears don't plan to add 7,000 seats to Soldier Field, despite reports to the contrary, Phillips said. The team had looked at adding another general admission deck to the north end zone but decided against it.
They "didn't think fans would like it because it would be so far from the field," Phillips said.
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