combining classic with modern is common in Europe. I think the architects pulled it off here. They kept the best aspects of the old stadium with a cool futuristic look with nice details in the cladding.

Fun Fact, the city of Chicago owes more money today than was originally borrowed for the renovation

Because of Grant Park Stadium (Soldier Field) status as a National Historical Landmark, the exterior of the stadium had to be maintained. It could not be torn down because of a federal law that protects historical sites. Since that time Soldier Field has been delisted as a National Historical Landmark.

It looks way better than the previous Soldier Field. I think it's underrated and not as bad as people make it out to be. I do like the newer Soldier Field renderings with the roof over it. I do think the Bears will stay in the city when its all said and done.

I think Soldier Field gets too much hate, it has History and great location.

Yes let’s demolish the Roman Coliseum. It’s too old.

I don't have a problem with the concept of keeping the facade of Old Soldier Field, but the problem is that the "inner stadium's" architecture is so out of place compared to the outer facade. They really need to have the architectures match and complement each other. And at this point they're just trying to put lipstick on a pig.

Huge omission from your video: new Soldier Field was the BEARS plan, not the city's. The Bears gave state legislators hours to vote on the funding, or the Bears and the NFL were going to pull their pieces of the funding. The city wanted a different design: dig down and build whatever you wanted, and add a retractable roof. Also allow for flexible seating so Chicago could host the Olympics, the Final Four, etc. The Bears would not agree or negotiate. At the time they said "We are an outdoor football team". Chicago lost their bid for the Olympics in part because Soldier Field does not meet the seating requirements. Now the Bears are considering a retractable roof for the potential stadium in Arlington Heights. In Summary, Bears hold state hostage, Bears get what they wanted, Bears now not happy with what the current stadium they designed.

Dempsey fought Tunney at Soldier Field in Sept 1927 before a reported crowd of 150,000. In November USC played Notre Dame before a reported crowd of 123,000

It’s like rebuilding the Astrodome in Houston with a new stadium but keeping the original roof just because it’s historical. Just plain dumb

tear down the new soldier field and build a new mls stadium in the art deco style so the pillars and the old parts blend well with a new mls stadium that seats around 25k

Not a Bears fan but I wanted to like the New Soldier Field. Most NFL stadiums are pretty cookie cutter but Soldier Field was unique looking and I really, really was hoping the unique look would grow on me but it never did.

there is a stadium in Melbourne Australia named the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) built in the 1853. there is nothing left of the stadium from when it was built (but they have been playing on the same spot since then.

I’m in the minority. But I love the look of Soldier Field

It is ridiculous. It looks like a spacecraft landed on the Acropolis.

the minute they stopped hosting SAMF (Spring Awakening) i knew it was going downhill from there! great breakdown!

The White Sox problem is that they built a bad stadium to begin with. They had to tear down a level of seats. The area isn't the greatest but it is better than it was 30 years ago. Obtw, it does help to have a good ball club. The one thing they could do is have more bars in the area but it's right next to the Expressway. The Sox wanted to leave before because of Old Comiskey Park. They should have tried to duplicate that place with better seating lines for their were places where a pole was in your line of sight. Otherwise it was a fun loud and crowded place in 1983 at least. I worked for the Cubs at Wrigley Field and at that time before the renovations, the bathrooms were horrible. They had stalls but not enough as most of the people relieved themselves in something that looked like a horse stable. They stayed put after renovations

Chicago is very particular about its architecture and preserving it. The Bears were given the condition that they had to keep the columns to preserve their historical architecture status but ended up losing anyway a few years after the stadium opened. Most hate the location anyway cause there is no easy way to access it and its in the museum district so there’s no bars or restraints nearby.

Can't stress enough... The old Soldier Field was an Olympic/track and field style arena. It wasn't designed for football and was always a poor fit. I saw many games there in the late seventies, early eighties. Poor viewing angles everywhere except mid field. No protection from icy death winds from Lake Michigan, I was always a sick kid the next day. The Bears, as always(except for 1985), need to focus on the team itself. Problems at all levels. The stadium itself is good enough. Strange, but good enough.

I am happy the old colonnades and building will live on in some way, even if a small stadium remains for municipal use. Kezar stadium is like that in a corner of golden gate park in San Francisco. I wish that was the case with a lot of old stadia, like Ebbets field and others.

Arguably , with the stunning backdrop of the Chicago skyline coupled with Lake Michigan ,this is the best stadium in the NFL. Tell me So-Fi backdrop and location is more postcard perfect than Soldier Field , you can’t….

In 2002 removing all the seats and reconfiguring the seating layout would have been great. Before the stadium was renovated in 1971 to get the team out of Wrigley Soldier Field capacity was over 100k. In 02 it was about 66k so they could easily got another 15k-20k new seats in the old footprint, along with Skybox’s and suites. Capacity would have sat around 75k at least. It was truly a missed opportunity.

That wasn’t the design for the Carson stadium, it was the City of Industry stadium concept. It was the least popular between the industry, Carson, and State Farm field in downtown LA. Ultimately the SoFi Stadium concept won and it was privately financed.

That Soldier Field rebuild in 2002 was a big mistake. The McCaskeys should have never went along with that plan that the Chicago Park District designed. That happened because former Mayor Daley was so adamant and stubborn about the Bears remaining at Soldier Field. That mistake cost Chicago a potential superbowl, NCAA basketball final four and most likely disqualified the City of Chicago from hosting the 2016 Olympics. Daley is to blame.

In Chicago - everything gets screwed up. It just costs too much to live there for what it is.

A new stadium for the White Sox where Soldier Field is a terrible idea. Traffic after Bears game is a nightmare. Imagine being a season ticket holder and have to deal with it 81 times a season !

A few things: * Those aren't pillars. They are colonnades, which is a fancy term for a long series of columns. Usually the term is used for columns in structures having the classic Greek/Roman styles (even if modern). Colonnade, yes. Column, acceptable. Pillar, no. * The redesign was attempting to retain the Landmark status of the original Soldier Field. Keep the outer shell as is and gut the interior, stay a landmark. Which limits your options. In the end, they lost the status as the changes were deemed too much. * Ultimately, the Bears are just a tenant. The Chicago Park District owns the stadium. And this also cuts into the extra money from parking, concessions, and so on. * Many teams are building complexes around their stadiums for year round entertainment. The Bears can't. Soldier Field is within the Museum Campus and Grant Park. Can't really build within that.

Once you are in Soldier Fields it’s not bad it’s a good spot to watch a game but having traveled to Detroit and Indianapolis they really could have done a lot more compared to what we got, a modern stadium with a retractable roof would have been 100x better than the mistake on the lake…

If Soldier Stadium fails, Chicago Fire FC, Chicago Red Stars and Chicago Bears at Guaranteed Rate Field as Soccer ⚽️/Football 🏈 Material or a new Stadium next door to United Airlines Center where the Bulls, Blackhawks and Sky sands there

You need to do better research. They couldn't just knock the stadium down. Its exterior had landmark status and it was nearly impossible to demolish under Illinois law. Also, the reason the surface sucks has very little to do with the weather. The stadium is owned by the city and they allow two high school games per week to be played there, which makes it impossible for the Bears to properly maintain the grass.

If they do decide to build a new stadium altogether, I hope they at least include the pillars somehow like incorporated into the new stadium kind of like the open end of the stadium like where the Raiders have their flame they should have pillars in the backdrop

Nice video. I actually like soldier field. Not just because I am a Packers fan and at least 2 of the franchise's greatest wins were played there but I just like unique stadiums. But the truth is that the greatest stadiums are the ones the where the greatest games were played. Like candlestick park is the coolest venue in sports history even though it was a shitty baseball stadium conversion. Moving to Arlington is odd since it would shave like 25 minutes off of packer fans commute.

7:18...dang that looks like staples center, and that city of industry football stadium...too many sweets

That Carson rendering looks like Soldier Field and Levi's stadium had a baby

The Chicago Blackhawks can have Wintrust Arena and Chicago Sky can take United Airlines Center with the Bulls

I think a big reason why they kept the pillars because at the time solider field was on the historic registry

I enjoy your videos. How about a broader question: why do some NFL stadiums fail and some succeed today? What are the factors? Location. Parking. Non-revenue extras (architecture). Revenue producing facilities. City/team/market. Traffic/mass transit. Revenue sharing with municipalities. Neighboring real estate opportunities.

Going to soldier field in October for the first time. Idk why I prefer the older stadiums like soldier and lambeau field than the new ones

Am I seeing that right that if you’re in the top part of that wall of seats you have walk up about 50 rows?

As a Bears fan I hope we get a 2nd NFL team in Chicago because I am tired of the Bears being shit

Went to a bears game last year and it’s just underwhelming it looks smaller in person as you can imagine

It looked like someone stacked a bigger "new" bowl onto the old bowl.

I always thought the new look was cool but I noticed many people who hated it. I have never been there so I have no informed opinion on that place. That Carson design was the original renderings of the Chargers/Raiders proposal but changed their renderings. The final Carson design was basically Allegiant Stadium without the roof and grass field tray. When the NFL was going to expand to 32, the LA proposal planned on doing the same to the LA Coliseum. While at the time I thought it was a good idea, I am glad Houston got that team because the Coliseum Commission was run by morons who insisted on a $6M per year lease and it would have been deemed obsolete by now. Plus I got my Rams back instead of an expansion team. I have heard the modified Solider Field has really narrow concourses but I have never been there so I don’t know. I also heard that the US Registry of Historical Places revoked Soldier Field’s status.

i still want to check it out...i like the design

Question for someone who has seen a game at the new Solider Field: Is it just me, or are most of the seats close to the field? The slightlines seem terrific

This is a whole new stadium. It's not the original. People need to stop considering the original Soldier field

Hay man you should make a video on the perfect place for oakland to make a new beautiful baseball location. It might have the best location in baseball is to make a stadium on the old alameda naval air field. It is directly across from howard terminal. This piece of empty land has some of the best views around.

Whats your favorite stadium and why? I'm a pats fan so I'll say Gillette, also because it's the only one I've ever been to.. but I really like allegiant stadium and want to see a raiders game there some day.

Every time i drive past it i sheed a little tear

Soldier Field was originally design by the same architect as Memorial Stadium downstate at the University of Illinois

Both the Chicago Bears organization and Chicago Park District (which manages the surrounding Grant Park) should have had a deal to build a new stadium on open park space about a quarter-mile from Soldier Field, then have had the old field's exterior architecture (pillars and all) preserved and interior repurposed as greenspace or as a performing arts venue, thus keeping Soldier Field's National Register of Historic Places status intact. Huge missed opportunity by those in charge to do that.

bears fan here...I can confirm...the stadium sucks

Why did it fail? Garbage design by committee, that's how. But if they'd clad it in the same stone as the original exterior, it might have looked reasonable.

Bad stadium idea build a stadium only with diamond shaped sections of seating connected to each other

The eyesore by the lakeshore

The grass surface is no longer considered among the worst. In fact, it was one of the better fields in 2023

I personally feel that the original Soldier Field is the greatest stadium ever built (followed VERY CLOSELY by the LA Coliseum), and your modern version at the 2:02 mark is just so fucking perfect.

As I’m from Scotland, and our stadiums are all needing at least a £350m renovation to each of the 50K+ ones. I can say this, I’d love to have the current or the new soldier field here. Alas, our stadium infrastructure is old and outdated now.

Simply put...politics and "tradition" got in the way. Then Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley wanted to preserve the historic collonades of the original Municipal Grant Park Stadium (aka Soldier Field), and keep the "historic landmark" status of the stadium. It took about 2½ to change Soldier Field from its single-level bowl configuration to what it is now. They won a speed award for the construction, but to a lot of us fans and such thought "a spaceship landed in Soldier Field". I was a member of the local press, and was at Soldier Field when Mayor Daley and Bears' brass announced this stadium build. The cost of this project at the time was about $600 million, but only ½ of that cost was for re-building Soldier Field, and the other half was for renovating the surrounding area, known locally as the "Museum Campus"...park land and corresponding land connecting the stadium and 3 museums (Field Museum, Shedd Aquarium, and Adler Planetarium). Several re-finance deals have proven to be financial failures for this project, and now the Bears are trying to build a new place...whether in suburban Arlington Heights, or the Chicago lakefront. And in April of this year, the Bears unveiled renderings of a new domed stadium built south of Soldier Field. Check out the renderings on manica.global, and select "projects", then "stadia", then "New Chicago Bears Stadium".

I’ve never been there but… I think it looks neat

its not a landmark anymore. they may as well build a new one

I hope the Bears move to Arlington Park and the old parts and exterior of Soldier Field can be preserved and demolish most of the newer stadium parts and reuse it as something of a memorial park, or Soccer stadium, Maybe part of a new White Sox ballpark if they move to downtown instead of staying on the south side

absolutely crazy that this stadium is already obsolete after spending $1bil+……municipalities should demand a minimum 50 yr guarantee lease before putting up a dime for any new stadium or arena!!!!

It was a horrible idea to begin with.

I love the stadium. I believe if it was in a different location in the city, it would be okay.

It hasn’t failed. It’s an outstanding place to watch a game. The group think that it’s not is spewed by types that want to sit in a recliner and drink mimosas, If you want open air, great sight lines, and close to the action, it’s a wonderful venue.

They kept the colonnade and exterior walls of the stadium and built inside in an effort to keep its designation as a historic landmark. That's why they gutted the inside and why they couldn't "just move the columns."

It might not look good yet its a hell of stadium for fotball

Dude- Aurora??? Nobody would go there....lol Arlington Heights or South Loop are the only real options imo

Gives me Mt Davis vibes from Oakland. Took an old beautiful timeless looking stadium and bastardized it with modern look. Hope they at least restore Soldier field back to its original look and preserve it. Money would’ve been better spent on a brand new stadium.

Looks great to me.

NOT ONE PENNY OF TAXPAYERS MONEY FOR NFL BILLIONAIRE OWNERS TO BUILD NEW TELEVISION STUDIOS (AKA STADIUMS). This concluded my TED talk.

How is this stadium bland???

Went to my first game at Soldier Field this year. Yeah its a dump 😂

I've been to the old Soldier Field, but not in it. I've been to a game at the new Soldier Field. My take is that it was better than what they had, but not something to write home about. It looks good, but from inside the stadium the levels seem to go straight up. Looks like everyone is on top of the field. I thought the I've looked good. It just seemed like the smallest stadium I've been in. Even college stadiums. If the stadium wasn't across the street from the Field Museum they probably would have ditched the columns.

For them I hope their new stadium whenever that happens build the monuments or whatever you want to call them and don't bury them make them visible again, make the monuments the tradition to your new place like the Yankees did for New Yankee Stadium.

In NHL related news did you hear about the deputy commissioner comments on atlanta expansion

if there are 3 options 1 do this 2 tear it down or 3 save existing structure 1 is 100% the worst

"Sweetness" would roll over in his grave if he saw this

Read what the opinion of Chicagoans and the press was back when they were planning this disaster. Everyone was against it except the one person who mattered. Rchard M.Daley. The same one who tore up Meggs Field in the middle of the night. He should have ended up in jail for how he left his mark on these two projects. The Park District and insider construction companies were the ones who made out because Daley insisted. Terrible legacy.

All of these new stadiums fail so badly.

for the last time, this is an entirely new stadium, it doesnt deserve the “oldest stadium” moniker, especially since it was stripped of being a landmark

Back in 2005 my boss at an architecture firm laid off a guy out of college partially because he kept calling columns “pillars.” Fortunately nobody would ever hire you, so we wouldn’t have to listen to you

Bears rent the Stadium from the Chicago Park District...If they leave early they still owe a ton of money to the Park district...

I like soldier Field. They should definitely stay so much history. As he said the oldest stadium in the NFL.

Aesthetically I like it. Parking, traffic, seating capacity, the steepest upper deck in the NFL and the wind chill being adjacent to the lakefront making it the coldest stadium in the league is what’s wrong with it. And the fact that the team that plays there has wasted hundreds of hours of my Sundays. You can’t leave the stadium for a smoke.

It’s a national monument, so you can’t knock it down…

It has failed because they landed a Space Ship on the Lakefront. You go by there and all you see is a glassy look. They want to have a Super Bowl here as well but political haggling keeps that from Happening. The field is a mess especially when they have concerts or soccer playing there. Some team 1 day will have both a field turf and real grass so that you can have those concerts and other things going on while your team plays on real grass. The turf can be just like they have in Arizona or that other place. I think Vegas. Not sure. It also helps to have a team in contention for the playoffs and Super Bowl more regular than they go now.

There is NO way they would've demolished the old structure to build a new stadium. Chicago citizens would not have stood for that because of it's historic and iconic status.

I think it's hideous, the should've built the new parts to blend in with the historic parts

The interior looks great, but the western exterior looks horrible. Like a UFO. It’s also egregious that it’s got the lowest capacity in the NFL for the nations 3rd largest city/metro area

This guy doesn't do much research...he simply just wants to video spam multiple times a day. I'm pretty sure he looks something up on Wikipedia, then just starts rambling.

Bears fans hate getting to Soldier Field.

They def pocked some of that money. lol. Who was the mayor back then?

The problem with Soldier Field is it's owned by the city and they fought the Bears and the NFL on the redesign.

new stadium for a losing team. need new owners🥴

That stadium is awesome

omg this isn't rocket science, the Chicago DMA is the #3 DMA, that's designated market area, they just renovated an old stadium, kinda like Key Arena, we saw how well that worked out for the Sonics, right?

Capacity

Soldier Field is just funny looking. I wasn't aware of the history, but they should have NEVER tried to preserve an old structure into a new structure. Knowing the history, I just look at the stadium in disbelief