Former Mayor Daley Wants New Stadium, 2nd NFL Team In Chicago
(CBS) From time-to-time, the conversation about a second NFL team in Chicago comes up. This time, it's former Mayor Richard M. Daley who is bringing up the conversation.
In an interview with Comcast Sports Net, Daley said the city should build a new stadium and add a second NFL team to the market.
"I really believe we could get a second football team," the former mayor said. "I've always believed -- the Chicago Cardinals, Bears -- why is it that New York has two? Florida has three, San Francisco has two. Now you think of that, we could easily take -- Chicago loves sports and we could get a second team in here.
"You could build a new stadium, you could have huge international soccer teams come in, you could do the Final Four, you could do anything you wanted with a brand new stadium."
Many in Chicago believe the city should have a stadium with a retractable roof to be able to host events like the Super Bowl and the Final Four. Renovations to Solider Field left the stadium as the second smallest in the NFL. That, coupled with the lack of a roof, makes it a longshot to host a Super Bowl.
But where would the money come for a new stadium?
"It would be privately funded, the government could help a little bit," Daley said. "But I've always believed we could take a second team. And every Sunday we would have a team playing in the National Football League. That would be unbelievable."
Los Angeles is currently trying to recruit an NFL franchise back to the city with a new stadium. The St. Louis Rams, Oakland Raiders and San Diego Chargers are the teams that have been linked to a move to L.A.