CHICAGO, Sept. 24 (UPI) -- The National Park System Advisory Board's Landmarks Committee is recommending Chicago's renovated Soldier Field be stripped of its landmark status.
A $660 million makeover completed last year wedged a towering stainless steel saucer between the historic columns of the Greek revival stadium built in 1924.
Critics described the new stadium as a flying saucer landing on Fred Flintstone's house, but the Chicago Park District, which owns Soldier Field, disagrees and plans to fight to retain landmark status.
Soldier Field is the home field of the Chicago Bears football team.
"We feel like we went to great lengths to preserve the structure's historic character, the exterior including the colonnades, which is what got us the landmark designation in the first place," Park District spokeswoman Michele Jones told the Chicago Tribune.
The non-profit Landmarks Preservation Council of Illinois opposed the renovation plan.
