Chicago Park District doesn't want Payton statue outside SF

[SportsWorld]

Ridiculous.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/fo ... 8115.story

Until the day he died, Walter Payton never quit trying.

Ten years after his death at 45, his family and friends remain equally determined to have a statue of Payton placed just outside Soldier Field.

For weeks, they have been involved in talks with the Chicago Park District. But thus far, they have gained no ground.

According to a Payton family spokeswoman, park district officials explained that Soldier Field and the area surrounding it is to be preserved strictly as a memorial to war veterans. There also is concern a Payton statue outside of Soldier Field might diminish the stature of other former Bears Hall of Famers.

[WEFFPIM]

Well, it's not like the Park District is making up an excuse, Soldier Field is technically a war memorial. But Soldier Field is, first and foremost, the home of the Bears. I don't think adding a statue of Walter Payton diminishes what Soldier Field is intended for anymore than the presence of the Bears has (which is a great deal considering the monstrosity that the stadium has become on the outside).

Put it outside of the stadium, put it in Grant Park, doesn't really matter in my mind. There's plenty of places to put a Walter Payton statue if Soldier Field doesn't pan out.

[Posey H8er]

Even though Payton deserves a statue I can understand the argument against it.

My solution: build some sort of Bears museum/HOF next to Soldier Field like some baseball teams do. There you can have your Halas, Ditka, and Payton statues.

[SportsWorld]

Soldier Field being a war memorial didn't stop the Park District from putting a spaceship on the stadium.

[blumeany]

Sell the Bears, please, and move them out to the burbs if this is what we have to deal with. Between this and the terrible field (player's opinions), it's a giant turd of a stadium. There's no reason that they shouldn't have Halas, Butkus, and Payton (at the very least) immortalized. Hell, Harry Carey has his own statue on the other side of town.

Not that this issue alone is the big deal, but it's really the straw that broke the camel's back. We need a privately owned and financed arena, not a government owned mud pit.

[Friend_Of_Haley]

Sell the Bears, please, and move them out to the burbs if this is what we have to deal with. Between this and the terrible field (player's opinions), it's a giant turd of a stadium. There's no reason that they shouldn't have Halas, Butkus, and Payton (at the very least) immortalized. Hell, Harry Carey has his own statue on the other side of town.

Not that this issue alone is the big deal, but it's really the straw that broke the camel's back. We need a privately owned and financed arena, not a government owned mud pit.

+1

[SportsWorld]

Yep move the Bears out to the suburbs. Build an 80,000 seat stadium so we can all go and enjoy our team instead of a 60,000 seat stadium (One of the smallest in the NFL) where only a select few can go to games. Get a group that can actually keep the field looking nice as opposed to right now where we're the embarrassment of the NFL with the way our field looks.

[Friend_Of_Haley]

Eh, not crazy about the suburbs, but I suppose there isn't anywhere to put in in the city. It'd be more of a pain for me to go out to Schaumburg or something rather than the city.

[WEFFPIM]

Weren't there plans to put a stadium out in Gary? That was a good decade ago, but I vaguely remember the talk about it.

[chitownsports4ever]

That sucks but the park district is clueless anyway. I always wanted a dome or retractable roof stadium at soldier field . I simply never understood why if we were gonna renovate it that we didnt go all out to make it a multi purpose stadium that could be used to bring in events like the final 4 and SB to Chicago.

Daley and all his cronies should be fired and locked up as the cost of building the Cardinals stadium in Arizona is 400+ million while Soldier Field was over 600 million.

http://www.bearshistory.com/lore/soldierfieldhistory-print.aspx

After reading that link it lets you know that the bears were only thinking about money when they agreed to the proposed renovation when considering what the other proposals were . They got the money but now the field is crap .

[SportsWorld]

I'm not sure about a dome or retractable roof. The cold and snow has been an advantage for the Bears forever. Putting a dome on the stadium kind of ruins tradition.

[WEFFPIM]

Yeah, no roof I'm fine with, but what an abortion job the Park District did in remodeling Soldier. Did it need to be renovated? You bet. But man alive, was a UFO necessary on Chicago's lakefront? On top of a Roman coliseum? Someone should tell the Park District what the word "cohesion" means. For example, Fieldturf and Earth have nice "cohesion."

[Worm Guts]

There also is concern a Payton statue outside of Soldier Field might diminish the stature of other former Bears Hall of Famers.

What? That's crazy talk

[Chewie]

It was extremely short-sighted to remodel SF the way it was done - especially for a city that would be looking to bring in the Olympics. Should've blown that puppy up and put in a retractable roof stadium. That being said, I would NEVER want that roof used during Bears games - would be purely for concerts, Final Four, Superbowl, etc.

[Friend_Of_Haley]

I wonder what the current lease agreement is for the Bears and Soldier Field. How long are they locked in for
?

[SportsWorld]

Chicago Park District head against Walter Payton statue near Soldier Field
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/chi- ... 4043.story

Chicago Park District Board President Gery Chico said Friday he doesn't think a memorial statue of late Bears great Walter Payton belongs near Soldier Field.

"I'd like to see an appropriate commemoration of Walter Payton's life and achievements in an appropriate location. I don't think that it's in Soldier Field, or even the immediate periphery of Soldier Field," Chico said. "That is for the memory of honoring our veterans, those who have given their lives."

Chico did not discuss what an appropriate location might be, citing ongoing talks with the Hall of Fame running back's family. The family at first said it would prefer the statue be just outside the stadium, but said it would not want to take away from how the field honors veterans.

Chicago Park District Supt. Tim Mitchell said he was planning to meet with the family over the next few weeks to find out what its plans are and what sites it is considering.

[WEFFPIM]

The Chicago Park District is a fun, eccentric little group of minions.

[CjayC]

I wonder if they have thought about actually asking veterans themselves or the family of veterans if they mind. I'm sure over half of them could give a damn. But having a war memorial outside of a Football and Events stadium(See what I did thur lol) is pretty dumb to begin with, if you are using the "Veterans shouldn't be dishonored" angle

[Mapelgleaf]

I'm OK w/ not putting Sweetness's statue for those reasons...

but if they EVER sell the naming rights to SF there will be hell to pay, IMO.