Earlier today on Chicago’s 670 The Score, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell called in to help support their “What About Chicago Radiothon,” which supports Austin Harvest, a food mart in Chicago’s Austin neighborhood that was recently converted from a liquor store.
He spoke with Score hosts Danny Parkins and Laurence Holmes, and former Chicago Bears linebacker Sam Acho, about the work that Acho has been doing with Austin Harvest.
You may recall the story from last July when Acho and several other Chicago athletes bought a liquor store, tore it down, then built a pop-up supermarket in its place. Now they’re raising money to make sure Austin Harvest has a permanent home in the neighborhood that has been lacking a proper grocery store for Austin’s residents.
It’s a great cause for sure, but during the interview Parkins asked Goodell about the Bears’ intentions with their recent bid on the Arlington Park property.
“I don’t know the answer to that question other than to know this is a really early stage to develop potentially an alternative,” Goodell said. But I think a lot has to be done here. I know their commitment to the Chicago area is 110%, and that’s the most important thing to me. We have a long lease at Soldier Field. It’s a great place. But we’re all looking to the long term and trying to look at alternatives, and that’s what the Bears are doing. But I think for fans right now, I wouldn’t be focused on that. There’s a lot that has to go into this. Right now, let’s enjoy the ‘21 season. A lot of excitement for the Bears.”
You can listen to the full interview with Goodell here.
To contribute to the What About Chicago Radiothon, you can support through this link, by texting “GIVE” to 44995, or by calling 1-800-707-8802.
The Bears bid to buy the Arlington Heights property made waves last week, but this week things have been lining up that makes it feel as though the Bears leaving Soldier Field could really happen.
Yesterday the Bears announced a partnership with Bet Rivers Casino, who just so happens to be jointly owned by Churchill Downs, who also owns the Arlington International Racecourse property that they bid on.
Also on Monday, the Arlington Heights village board voted to approve the property to be zoned for a football stadium, among other things, but football stadium is obviously the key item if they accept the Bears’ bid on the location.
If the McCaskey family is really looking to sell, which was reported in May, then a sparkly new stadium would certainly boost up the sale price.
It’s all starting to feel very real, so do you think the Bears are actually going to build themselves a state of the art stadium 40 minutes northwest of Chicago in Arlington Heights?
