CHICAGO -- The Chicago Bears Thursday filed suit charging the Chicago Park District broke a contract by allowing the Chicago Blitz to earn $2 million a season from luxurious skyboxes the Bears built at Soldier Field.
The suit, filed in Cook County Circuit Court, alleged the Blitz, of the USFL, will earn more money than the Bears by playing at Soldier Field.
That violates an agreement which guarantees the Bears the same financial benefits the park district grants to any other professional football team using Soldier Field, the suit said.
The suit said the Bears spent more than $5 million to build the skyboxes at Soldier Field while the Blitz paid nothing. It charged the park district signed an agreement that will give the Blitz more than $2 million from renting out the skyboxes during games.
The suit asked the district to give the Bears the same deal but does not seek to overturn the agreement with the Blitz.
A Bears spokesman said several months of negotiations failed to resolve the issue.
The Bears renewed their lease with the park district in 1980. The Blitz came to terms last fall.
