I love Arlington Park, it’s special to me and my family. My dad grew up racing horses there and it’s where my wife and I got married. I very much want the park to stay open.
But with news of the Bears putting in a bid for the property, well, we got curious here at Cor Strategies. We’re all Bears fans, so we commissioned an internal poll to see what people throughout Chicagoland thought about the Bears moving to Arlington Heights.
To be clear, this is an inexpensive automated poll. It’s just for fun and coming out of our pockets, so we didn’t do live calls or texting, like we do for our client polls. We had our partners at Victory Geek collect over 1000 automated responses from Chicagoland residents…everyone but Packers fans, because no one cares what they think. Then our data experts weighted and modeled the results. (1,078 responses | margin of error: ±2.98%)
66% of Chicagoland residents support the Bears moving to Arlington Heights, while only 23% oppose the move. This includes 50% who strongly support the move, with only 15% strongly opposing it.
Unsurprisingly, it’s suburban residents who drive these numbers. Suburban Cook residents overwhelmingly support the move, 77% to 16%, with 64% strongly supporting it. Collar county residents back it 70% to 19%, with 57% strongly in favor.
Yet Chicagoans aren’t as opposed as you’d assume. In fact, 44% of Chicagoans support the Bears moving to Arlington Heights, while only 37% oppose it. Of that, 26% are strongly opposed, while 22% are strongly supportive.
If you’re curious how Arlington Heights residents feel, well, we were too. Turns out they almost universally support the Bears coming to town, 83% to just 12%.
Chicagoland Bears fans back it 71% to 21%, while other NFL fans support it 57% to 35%. Even those who aren’t NFL fans support it 33% to 26%.
These numbers tell us this should be more than just a negotiating tactic with the city…the Bears should strongly consider moving to Arlington Heights.
Plus, they’ve already got their first suite sponsor lined up if they move. Since they’d be just 2 miles from my house and 4 miles from our office, you better bet we’d be shelling out for a sponsorship!
