Share this article!

The efforts by the Chicago Bears to build a new stadium with the help of public funding has received a thumbs down in a new poll of Illinois voters, but the team is reportedly shifting gears to pursue a stadium in a Chicago suburb.

A new survey commissioned by Crain’s Chicago Business found a two-to-one majority of Illinois voters were opposed to the stadium as proposed by the team, although 40% of respondents said they would be supportive of the project if the Super Bowl could be played at the proposed venue. One-third of respondents said they would back the stadium if the venue could host concerts year-round.

The stadium project is estimated to cost $4.6 billion, with $3.2 billion directed toward building the new stadium itself and the rest of the funding aimed at infrastructure upgrades, including the gutting of the interior of Soldier Field, the team’s current stadium, which would be reinvented as multi-use sports fields.

However, the team only committed to putting forth more than $2 billion to the project—over 70% of the total stadium cost. Karen Murphy, the team’s executive vice president of stadium development, tried to sell the proposal as a win-win for the public by declaring that “infrastructure projects drive jobs, and they create economic impact.”

To date, the Bears’ initiative has found little support in the Illinois legislature, which ended its spring session without addressing a stadium financing proposal. But the football team is pursuing a Plan B by shifting the potential stadium out of Chicago and into the suburban village of Arlington Heights at the site a former horse racing track. Mark Carman, host of CHGO Sports, took to X (formerly Twitter), to report on this development.

“Source: The Bears have made progress in their discussions with Arlington Heights and the school district board for their stadium deal,” Carman tweeted. “The belief is that [Bears President and CEO] Kevin Warren’s timeline to get a deal done remains aggressive.”

Carman added, “Update: Bears continue to work towards a resolution regarding property taxes with school board and Arlington Heights on the land they own. AH remains hopeful Bears will build their new stadium there. The Bears maintain their stadium focus remains on the museum campus in Chicago.”

Photo: Artist’s rendering of the proposed Bears stadium