If you live in the Chicago area, you most likely know that the Bears are talking about leaving Soldier Field. A deal to buy the land currently occupied by the defunct Arlington Park is expected to close before the end of the year. Despite efforts by Chicago mayor Lori Lightfoot to keep the Bears in the city, all signs point to the team bolting for the suburbs in a few years.
When the new stadium opens, it needs to host a Shamrock Series game soon game. Soldier Field already has hosted two of them, and there’s no reason for Notre Dame not to bring this series to Arlington Heights, Illinois. A bigger stadium will be there for the filling, and that should be no problem. As our editor Nick Shepkowski said when I texted him about this, the Irish could schedule Montana State for the game, and the place still would sell out.
Assuming this stadium gets built, it will be in line to host a Super Bowl, the Final Four, maybe even the College Football Playoff or Big Ten title games. The Shamrock Series should be a layup. As soon as it’s ready to open, [autotag]Jack Swarbrick[/autotag] or whoever is athletic director needs to get on the phone and book the stadium for the first year that doesn’t already have a host city.
Chicago already has a heavy contingent of Irish fans, so you know there will be plenty of local fans present and not only folks from out of town. Imagine not having to go to the city to check out your team that only comes through once in a while. The best part is they can do it in November without having to worry about that cold wind blowing off Lake Michigan. The location and a roof will take care of that.
The Irish should have played their last game at Soldier Field. It’s in the past where it belongs. The future is coming to the Chicago area, and the Irish need to be part of it early on.
[mm-video type=playlist id=01eqbz1mmy7gev0xbr player_id=none image=https://fightingirishwire.usatoday.com/wp-content/plugins/mm-video/images/playlist-icon.png]
Contact/Follow us @IrishWireND on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Notre Dame news, notes, and opinions.
Follow Geoffrey on Twitter: @gfclark89