The Chicago Bears leadership is floating the possibility of moving the team across the Illinois border into Indiana to achieve a new stadium.
In an open letter, President and CEO Kevin Warren stated that while the team still believed that a location in suburban Arlington Heights “is the only location in Cook County that meets the requirements for a world-class NFL stadium,” he raised the possibility of taking the team elsewhere if the deal falls through.
“Consequently, in addition to Arlington Park, we need to expand our search and critically evaluate opportunities throughout the wider Chicagoland region, including Northwest Indiana,” Warren wrote. “This is not about leverage. We spent years trying to build a new home in Cook County. We invested significant time and resources evaluating multiple sites and rationally decided on Arlington Heights. Our fans deserve a world-class stadium. Our players and coaches deserve a venue that matches the championship standard they strive for every day. With that in mind, our organization must keep every credible pathway open to deliver that future.”
The $3 billion stadium project planned in Arlington Heights is supposed to be privately funded, although it would require $862 million in public infrastructure funding and a freeze on that property tax assessment at the stadium’s 326-acre site. But the team will need to wait for the first half of 2026 when the Illinois legislature returns to consider the funding support.
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.”
The team’s lease at its Soldier Field home expires in 2033. Warren sought to begin construction on a new stadium 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.” With that goal erased, Warren is trying to turn up the pressure on state lawmakers to meet his demands.
“The stakes for Illinois are significant: thousands of union jobs, year-round attractions and global events made possible by a fixed roof stadium that would provide long-term revenue for the State,” he wrote. “For a project of this scale, uncertainty has significant consequences. Stable timelines are critical, as are predictable processes and elected leaders, who share a sense of urgency and appreciation for public partnership that projects with this level of impact require. We have not received that sense of urgency or appreciation to date. We have been told directly by State leadership, our project will not be a priority in 2026, despite the benefits it will bring to Illinois.”
