What kind of manpower and resources would Arlington Heights need to handle security and emergency response in and around a new Bears stadium?
Village officials have been contemplating the question ever since the NFL franchise announced its interest in relocating to the Northwest suburb. It led top brass in the fire and police departments in 2022 to shadow municipal counterparts in NFL stadium communities, including Inglewood, California, Foxborough, Massachusetts, Arlington, Texas, and Las Vegas.
But Arlington Heights officials are starting to have more serious planning discussions now that the Bears appear more serious about developing the 326-acre property the team owns on the west side of town.
On Friday, the NFL club announced a long-rumored and much-anticipated shift in stadium development focus back to Arlington Heights after a proposal for a publicly owned Chicago lakefront stadium fell flat with state lawmakers.
Even before then, officials at village hall had been having regular working group discussions about various facets of the potential Arlington Park redevelopment.
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