Bears defend stadium plan as critics blast proposals NBC Chicago [Video]

The Chicago Bears are defending their push to build a new stadium on the city’s lakefront after a group of organizations blasted the plan on Wednesday.

The groups, led by Friends of the Parks, assailed the project as a bad deal for taxpayers, a threat to the future of Soldier Field and an unfair deal that could potentially limit access to parts of the lakefront.

The Bears pushed back against all of those criticisms in a statement issued after a press conference Wednesday.  

“The Chicago Bears have been an active member of the Chicago community for over 100 years—a legacy we are excited to build upon and we work toward investing $2 billion to replace Soldier Field with a state-of-the-art, enclosed stadium that will create over 43,000 construction jobs and more than 4,000 permanent jobs. Our plan also increases the green and open space and provides more year-round access to …