Bears’ proposed stadium site in Arlington Heights has Palatine, Rolling Meadows worried about traffic, costs – The Denver Post

The site of the proposed new Chicago Bears stadium is in Arlington Heights, but it’s right across the street from Palatine and Rolling Meadows, where officials welcome the proposal but are worried about the trouble and expense it could bring.

The Bears recently bought Arlington International Racecourse for $197 million. They propose building an enclosed stadium as part of a $5 billion development with apartments, condominiums, bars, restaurants and other businesses.

The massive 326-acre site is surrounded by residential neighborhoods and businesses, where the main concern is traffic. If the stadium holds 70,000 fans or more, as is common in the National Football League, Palatine Village Manager Reid Ottesen said that it could cause “gridlock” in his town.

Many of those fans…