The Chicago Bears have been forced to delay their plans for a new stadium after failing to secure state funding during the fall legislative session.
Forbes reports that while the $3 billion stadium project planned in suburban Arlington Heights, Illinois, will be privately funded, it would require $862 million in public infrastructure funding and a freeze on that property tax assessment at the stadium’s 326-acre site.
The team will need to wait for the first half of 2026 when the Illinois legislature returns to consider the funding support. Team president Kevin Warren sought to begin construction before the end of this year, with a three-year schedule to complete work on the project so the team could bid for hosting the Super Bowl “as soon as 2031.”
However, Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker has been skeptical of the new stadium project, noting the Illinois Sports Facility Authority still carries an outstanding debt of $534.4 million tied to the renovations of Soldier Field, the team’s longtime home.
“I love the Bears, and I love them even more when they win,” said Pritzker in a recent appearance at the Economic Club of Chicago. “But that has nothing to do with my decision making about what the state will do with building stadiums.”
