With Soldier Field’s future up in the air as the Chicago Bears eye potentially greener suburban pastures, Mayor Lori Lightfoot has empaneled a group to recommend ways to improve the lakefront Museum Campus.

The 18-member working group will set out “to reimagine the Museum Campus experience targeting year-round tourism and activation on the Campus,” according to Lightfoot’s office.

In addition to Soldier Field, the 57-acre campus also includes the Adler Planetarium, the Field Museum, the Shedd Aquarium and the McCormick Place lakefront building. The 12th Street Beach and Northerly Island are also in the mix.

But it’s clearly the iconic football stadium that will draw most of the public interest as Lightfoot prepares for the possibility the Bears will decamp to Arlington Heights to build a new complex on the site of the Arlington Park racetrack.

While she tries to determine if it’s possible to keep the team in Chicago, the mayor also needs to prepare for a post-Bears future at the lakefront so she can present a forward-looking plan to try to defray the loss of revenue and civic prestige if they leave.

With apologies to the Chicago Fire, it’s unlikely the city could really replace the Bears at Soldier Field, so tasking the working group with reimagining the entire lakefront campus gives Lightfoot a chance to recast the discussion to look at the broader question of revitalizing tourism post-pandemic.

“The Museum Campus is an integral part of Chicago and a huge contributor to our city’s culture and economy,” Lightfoot said in a statement. “In order to maximize the benefits of its valuable assets, as well as address larger issues about the campus, recommendations from dedicated and talented community leaders are absolutely necessary.”

The working group will be chaired by Richard Price, chairman and CEO of Mesirow financial services. And it will feature a cross-section of heavyweights in the city’s business and cultural spheres.