Bears president all but shuts door on team staying in city, says 'future home' in Arlington Heights

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CHICAGO (AP) — The Chicago Bears all but slammed the door on building an enclosed stadium in the city, with team president Kevin Warren writing in a letter to fans on Monday that the team's “future home” is in suburban Arlington Heights.

“Moving outside of the city of Chicago is not a decision we reached easily,” Warren said. “This project does not represent us leaving, it represents us expanding. The Bears draw fans from all over Illinois, and over 50 percent of our season-ticket holders live within 25 miles of the Arlington Heights site.”

The Bears sent the letter hours before their season opener against the Minnesota Vikings.

Warren made it clear the team is committed to building a stadium, saying “this is the year” to finalize plans so the team could bid to host a Super Bowl “as soon as 2031.” He said the stadium would “require zero state money for construction," but the team would need the legislature to pass a bill in October to start construction this year.

That bill would freeze property taxes for large-scale construction projects like the stadium. Warren maintains the bill could create 56,000 jobs during construction and 9,000 permanent jobs.

The Bears' focus for a new home has fluctuated between a tract of land they own in Arlington Heights to the city, and then back to the suburb.

In September 2022, they unveiled a nearly $5 billion plan for Arlington Heights that also called for restaurants, retail and more, when they were finalizing the purchase of that site 30 miles from Soldier Field. Their focus moved toward building a new stadium next to Soldier Field after Warren was hired as president two years ago to replace the retiring Ted Phillips. The plan to transform Chicago's Museum Campus got an enthusiastic endorsement from Mayor Brandon Johnson but a tepid reception from Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker and state legislators when it was announced in April 2024.

Last spring, the team announced it was turning its attention back to Arlington Heights, citing “significant progress” with local leaders.

Since moving to Chicago in 1921, the Bears have never owned their stadium, whether playing at Wrigley Field from 1921 to 1970 or Soldier Field since then.

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