The Chicago Bears announced their intentions to build a new stadium on the Chicago lakefront on Wednesday. The project will cost $4.6 billion, and the Bears are requesting $2.3 billion in public funds. There had been rumors going for years that the Bears planned to move to Arlington Heights after the team spent $200 million on land there, but a debate over taxes seems to have quashed that plan. Prior to the announcement, Pastor Charlie Dates of Salem Baptist Church of Chicago led the press conference in a word of prayer. “We thank you for all the people who will benefit from the Bears staying in Chicago,” Pastor Dates began, noting the concerns of Chicagoans of the potential loss to the city had the team moved to Arlington Heights.

“I don’t know that you play football,” continued Dates, “but I am asking you to help us. Help us to win some games, help us to get a Super Bowl here, help us to play in the Super Bowl, and bring back the 1985 roaring, cheering fans we had for your glory and for our good.” The pastor’s comments did earn him some chuckles as he went on. “And on a more serious note, for all the people who will work here, who will thrive here, who will come to experience significant family memories here, we give You glory and thanks. And if I’ve asked You for too little, I pray You do something even bigger than what I’ve asked You for in your precious name,” he finished.

Despite the goodwill from the crowd at the press conference, Dates’s prayer earned him criticism from WSCR AM-670 radio host Lawrence Holmes. “The neighborhood where his church resides is the neighborhood I grew up in. There are plenty of people in that neighborhood and around Chicago that need prayer,” Holmes insisted. “You chose to ask for God’s grace, today, for a stadium. You should be ashamed, Pastor. And your congregation should be ashamed, too, that they follow you,” he said, turning his comments directly towards Dates. “I’m offended as a citizen of Chicago. I am offended for people who try to serve and worship a God that you’re hoping shares his grace on the poor and the downtrodden,” he added, saying that Dates didn’t need to be surrounding himself with billionaires instead of the poor. “I am so tired of people using God to put their hands in someone’s pocket. This is the worst possible example of this. You are using the word of God to try and fleece the flock for billionaires!” Dates has not responded to the criticism, but Holmes is not alone in being cynical towards the big price tag required for the stadium. Friends of the Parks, which has advocated for protection of the Chicago lakefront, called the plan rushed and criticized it for a lack of transparency. “Chicago has a long history of closed-door planning and rushed decision-making that does not end well for taxpayers,” said the group. Illinois governor, JB Pritzker, voiced his skepticism as well. “I remain skeptical about this proposal, and I wonder whether it’s a good deal for the taxpayers,” he said. “There are a lot of priorities that the state has, and I’m not sure that this is among the highest priorities for taxpayers.”