Justin Fields said something this week that many old-school Chicago Bears fans would view as sacrilegious: he wants the team to build a dome on the eventual new stadium. It makes sense, of course, but taking the traditional cold-weather games out of December and (hopefully) January football in Chicago will take some getting used to.
It’s an adjustment that Fields hopes is in his future.
“I hope we get a dome,” Fields said on the Pardon My Take Podcast. “I don’t care if we’re at Soldier Field. I don’t care if we’re at Arlington Heights. I hope we get a dome.”
A dome would allow Chicago to host events like the Super Bowl. But the impact it could have on the field may result in the Bears actually playing in one, too.
“Yes, it is very difficult to adjust to it, especially with the wind,” Fields said about the Chicago cold. “That’s what I found out. That’s what it’s all about, is the wind. It can be cold. It can be 10 degrees. But, with no wind, you’re fine. But with that 15 mile per hour wind, that 20 mile per hour wind, you can’t fight it; it’s tough.
“When it’s that cold, you have to bundle up. I feel way slower in that cold. It’s hard to stay warm in that weather.”
A slower Justin Fields is a less effective Justin Fields. And a less effective Justin Fields is a less effective Chicago Bears.
The Bears are expected to build around Fields in free agency and the 2023 NFL Draft this offseason. Perhaps they should consider building the stadium around Fields’ wishes, too.
