Hotel tax revenues fall $29M short; Chicago taxpayers could be on the hook to make up difference on Soldier Field bonds

The rebuilding of Soldier Field is supposed to be paid off with hotel tax revenues, but when those fall short, Chicago taxpayers can be forced to make up the difference. | Sun-Times file photo

Chicago taxpayers could be on the hook for a $29 million shortfall in hotel tax revenues needed to retire Soldier Field renovation bonds thanks to the pandemic’s lingering impact on hotels.

For the second straight year, the Illinois Sports Facilities Authority doesn’t have enough money to repay $415 million in outstanding debt, most of it tied to the much-maligned renovation of Soldier Field completed long before the Bears agreed to purchase the shuttered site of Arlington International Racecourse, where they are may build a new stadium.