The Chicago Bears unveiled the latest in a string of proposals around the United States to build major sports arenas with a $4.7 billion football home that would bring a different type of sweeping change to the nearby area, in this case the city’s lakefront with a publicly owned, domed stadium as the centerpiece.

The plans from the NFL franchise include a stadium that would cost more than $3.2 billion, as well as $1.5 million in improved access on the Museum Campus along Lake Michigan. But unlike some other arena projects around the country of late, this stadium isn't designed to be surrounded by new commercial development.

The public-private partnership is expected to become the largest for a sports stadium project nationally. While the plan is likely to face a long path toward approval, Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson expressed support, saying public funding would require no new taxes and create employment for tens of thousands in the construction industry and 4,200 new long-term jobs. But the plan would include for another 40 years an existing 2% tax on hotel stays in the city.

If approved, the plan would keep the team in the city after a flirtation with the suburbs, while the larger, closed stadium would allow the city to pursue major events such as the Super Bowl and NCAA basketball Final Four that the current, open-air stadium is unable to support.

“We’re going to see a Super Bowl in Chicago, and it’s going to be our team playing,” Johnson said.

Public subsidies for professional sports venues have faced criticism and sparked public debate. Last year, the Tennessee Titans gained approval from the city of Nashville for a new stadium backed by a $1.2 billion public subsidy that will be the largest in U.S. stadium history. That deal includes a plan to develop 66 acres around the new stadium for parks and affordable housing.

The Bears’ plan is counter to a national trend in recent years of creating mixed-use districts around new sports venues, allowing the team owners to cash in on recurring revenue from real estate rents. One such example is SoFi Stadium, home to the NFL’s Los Angeles Rams and Chargers. That complex was developed by the Rams’ owner, billionaire real estate magnate Stan Kroenke.

As part of the plan, the Bears’ current stadium would be demolished to preserve open space within the broader Museum Campus, home to the Field Museum, Shedd Aquarium and Adler Planetarium.

Soldier Field’s historic collonades would be preserved as part of public park space, which could include new community sports fields and other attractions such as an outdoor skating rink in the winter.

The Bears said the development could potentially include a publicly owned hotel.

The 57-acre campus is alongside the sprawling McCormick Place convention center and the lake.

Major hurdles remain in the plan, including how to pay for the stadium and related infrastructure such as improved car access to the site.

The Bears also are likely to encounter stiff opposition from groups such as Friends of the Parks that have fought against previous proposals east of DuSable Lake Shore Drive, citing a half-century-old ordinance that largely prohibits developments on the sliver of land along the lake.

“Star Wars” creator George Lucas previously attempted to put a new museum on the same site, which includes a parking lot just south of Soldier Field, before abandoning those plans in 2016 after a prolonged clash with advocacy group Friends of the Parks. The Lucas Museum of Narrative Art shifted its focus to Los Angeles, where it is expected to open next year.

“This is not an easy project, but Chicago doesn’t like it easy. We like to do the difficult things,” Bears President Kevin Warren said. “We like to do the things that resonate with people for generations to come. It’s time for us to do something special together.”

Bears officials said the team would pay just over $2 million toward the plan through equity and debt, while also kicking in another $300 million from an NFL loan. The team seeks $900 million in public bonds for the stadium, while also seeking $1.5 billion in public dollars for three phases of infrastructure construction for things such as reconfigured and new roads, improved transit access, retail and other public attractions.

The initial $325 million infrastructure phase would be needed for the project to begin, the team said, potentially paid from state or federal funds.

The public portion of the plan would be funded through bonds issued through the Illinois Sports Facilities Authority to be paid over 40 years, which would include retiring the state and city agency’s remaining debt on the current stadium.

The debt would be paid from an existing 2% tax on hotel stays in Chicago, pending approval of the plan by state legislators.

The Chicago Park District, which owns the current stadium, would own the new venue as well.

Architecture firm Manica, whose projects include Las Vegas Raiders home Allegiant Stadium, which hosted the Super Bowl earlier this year, is the Bears’ designer.

The design includes a translucent roof and huge windows looking out of the stadium toward Chicago’s skyline. Warren said the Bears decided against having a retractable roof to reduce the overall project cost.

Wednesday’s announcement comes a little more than a year after the Bears’ owners, the McCaskey family, completed a $197.2 million purchase of the 326-acre former Arlington International Racecourse in northwest suburban Arlington Heights, Illinois.

The team demolished grandstands and other structures on the site with plans to develop a multibillion-dollar stadium campus that also would have included revenue-generating buildings such as apartment towers, restaurants, retail and entertainment.

But after talks for potential incentives from Arlington Heights and disputes over the team’s property tax bill for the now-vacant site, the Bears more recently shifted gears and publicly said their top priority is to remain in the city.

The Bears are releasing new details as another sports team in town, Major League Baseball’s White Sox, also are seeking potential state and local incentives for a new home. The White Sox are working with Related Midwest on a plan to have a new ballpark be the centerpiece of the developer’s The 78, a mixed-use development planned on riverfront land running between the South Loop and Chinatown.

Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker has expressed skepticism about public funding of venues for privately owned teams.

The teams have been working together on creating a financing model that could include public dollars for both projects.

The Bears’ first public presentation of plans for a new lakefront stadium came on the eve of this year’s NFL draft, with the team taking center stage as the owner of the Nos. 1 and 9 overall picks. Decisions on those players, starting with the expected selection of former USC quarterback Caleb Williams, are expected to shape the team’s on-field fortunes for years to come.

In 2022, as the Bears focused on the former horse-racing venue in the suburbs, previous Mayor Lori Lightfoot and other city officials previously proposed reconfiguring the current stadium with a dome.

The city also studied potential plans for Soldier Field, which also is home to Major League Soccer’s Chicago Fire, if the Bears were to leave the city.