Chicago Developer Tries To Lure Amazon With Its Own Stadium

Sterling Bay, a Chicago developer, is throwing in a sports and concert stadium into its proposal for Amazon’s second U.S. headquarters, in an effort to outbid the other cities vying for the project.

According to a news report in the Chicago Tribune, the developer’s Lincoln Yards project includes the ability for Amazon to have a stadium at its headquarters. The developer described it as “a world-class sports and entertainment stadium,” the report noted, citing materials the paper obtained.

“Sterling Bay is currently engaged in active discussions with the city of Chicago, professional sports leagues and international entertainment production companies to partner on the development and operations of this venue,” Sterling Bay said in its Amazon proposal, reported the paper. In a drawing and video that were sent to Amazon, the stadium is shown along the river in the city.

The report noted that city and state officials submitted a bid to Amazon on Oct. 16 to be the home of its second headquarters. That bid includes 10 potential locations, including Sterling Bay’s site, which is more than 70 acres and is located along the river close to Lincoln Park and Bucktown.

“The city asked us for our boldest ideas on Amazon’s HQ2, and that’s what we did at Lincoln Yards,” Sterling Bay managing principal Andy Gloor said in an email to the Chicago Tribune. “These are conceptual designs for the Amazon proposal, and we hope they see what we already know: Chicago and Lincoln Yards provide unmatched possibilities for HQ2.”

Last week, Amazon said it received proposals from 238 cities and regions spanning 54 states, provinces, districts and territories in the U.S. Amazon is expected to reduce the list of candidates in one or a series of rounds before finalizing the location for the headquarters next year.