Arts & Entertainment
As Team Heats Up, Chicago Bears Float Move to Northwest Indiana
A rendering of an aerial view of the Chicago Bears property in Arlington Heights. (Courtesy of Hart Howerton / Chicago Bears)
In the latest back-and-forth over their desired new stadium complex, the Chicago Bears are now exploring options outside of Arlington Heights.
In a letter addressed to Chicago Bears fans, Bears president and CEO Kevin Warren wrote that the search for a new stadium site will now include “opportunities throughout the wider Chicagoland region, including Northwest Indiana.”
The Chicago Tribune was first to report on the shift.
The former Arlington International Racetrack site in the northwest suburb, which the team purchased for $197 million in 2023, remains the only path forward for a stadium in Cook County, according to the letter.
“This is not about leverage,” Warren wrote. “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 team said it is committed to investing more than $2 billion for the construction of a new stadium in Arlington Heights and is only asking for a financial commitment from state taxpayers to fund infrastructure like roads, utilities and “site improvements.”
Those infrastructure improvements could cost $855 million, according to a team consultant.
The Illinois General Assembly did not take up that ask during its October veto session. Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker has previously said he was in support of assisting with infrastructure and roads but would not back a measure that would use state funds to build facilities or protect the team from paying property taxes on the new development.
“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,” Warren writes in the letter.
There is also pressure from Pritzker and lawmakers for the team to make good on the more than $500 million it still owes for the renovations on Soldier Field back in 2003.
The latest public statement comes as the team is riding high on goodwill from fans, sitting atop the NFC North with a 10-4 record.
In May, the team pulled the plug on a plan to build a domed lakefront stadium in Chicago and said it was renewing its focus on Arlington Heights. That proposal for a reimagined Museum Campus called for taxpayers to pick up approximately $2.4 billion of the total $4.75 billion cost.
At the time of that shift, the team said it had made significant progress with leaders in Arlington Heights.
The team’s lease of Soldier Field from the Chicago Park District expires in 2033. The Bears pay $6.48 million annually to use Soldier Field and can terminate that agreement early, as long as the team pays a penalty.
WTTW News reporter Heather Cherone contributed.
