As the World Cup begins, fans around the world prepare to root for their home country, their favorite stars or possibly to root against rivals if their country did not make the tournament. Three countries, Canada, Mexico and the United States will host games with 11 cities hosting matches in the U.S. However, Chicago will not be one of those cities.
When FIFA, the association that sanctions the World Cup, came to Chicago to see if the Windy City wanted to host a game, they were rebuffed by then-mayor Rahm Emanuel. “I’m not the smartest businessman but I’ve passed 8th grade math and the numbers don’t work,” Emanuel recently told The Athletic. Those numbers are being questioned and fretted about in New York and New Jersey as prices for tickets, transit and security skyrocket.
More recently, the Chicago Bears have not found a partner in the State of Illinois or the City of Chicago when it comes to massive subsidies for a new stadium. In response, the Bears have done the once unthinkable – threaten to move the team to Hammond, Indiana. For his part, Pritzker has stated, “The reality is that I wasn’t willing to give up billions of dollars of taxpayer money in order to give it to a billionaire-owned family, or team.”
The statement follows a movement around the country of demanding more scrutiny of massive publicly funded projects that benefit billionaire owners of sports teams. Of course, there is the threat that taxpayers don’t want a publicly funded stadium but fans – who happen to be the same people – will blame a politician who sees the Bears leave on their watch.
Ultimately, the timing of rejection may be what matters most for political considerations. For Emmanuel, he had the benefit of rejecting major taxpayer outlays while in office but was long out of office when the World Cup began. For Pritzker, he will more than likely either have to approve a taxpayer funded deal or be the governor who watched the Bears cross state lines into Indiana.
