Soldier Field fixes: adding dome, seats, synthetic turf are ‘lipstick on a pig,’ expert says

A rendering of an aerial view of Soldier Field and the Museum Campus, included in a report issued by a mayoral working group, includes a proposed pedestrian bridge over Burnham Harbor, a new plaza along the east side of the stadium and a new music venue between the stadium and the Field Museum. (City of Chicago/Skidmore, Owings and Merrill)

Putting a dome over Soldier Field, expanding the NFL’s lowest seating capacity, installing synthetic turf and selling naming rights will not keep the Bears in Chicago because it’s “trying to put lipstick on a pig,” a sports marketing expert said Thursday.

“Even if they achieved everything that’s been listed and they paid for it all with public funds, it wouldn’t even be close to sufficient for a future long-term home for the Bears,” said Chicagoan Marc Ganis, who has advised numerous NFL teams on stadium financing.