Chicago’s Football Team Confronts a Bear Market for a New Stadium
As the Chicago Bears reflect on another disappointing season, the franchise hopes to make a big play off the field: building a multi-billion dollar new stadium. The catch? They can’t settle on a location.
Kevin Warren, the CEO of the 106-year-old team, voiced the need for a new build. Their current stadium at Soldier Field is the smallest in the National Football League, and players bear brutal temperatures in the winter without a stadium ceiling.
The team first expressed interest in moving in 2021 when they put an offer on Arlington International Racecourse. At the time, the 326-acre horse track provided the Bears with much-needed space in a dense city. Furthermore, it already had nearby transportation, including a Metra station and a 6-lane highway.
Since they bought the property for $197.2 million, though, the Bears have faced multiple setbacks.
The Bears bitterly fought with school districts in Arlington Heights over the property’s value. The school district sought a higher valuation to increase annual property taxes, which would fund nearby schools. It wasn’t until the end of 2024 that Arlington Heights settled with the Bears. Instead of paying the town $9 million in annual property taxes, the Bears would pay $3.6 million based on an agreed property assessment of $12.5 million.
While the Bears resolved most complaints over Arlington Heights, Mayor Brandon Johnson opposes the new site. “My goal is to keep them in Chicago,” Johnson reiterated at a press conference last November, “that is important.” Fans also lament at a possible 40-minute drive outside the city limits. As one fan argued, “You don’t want it to be Chicago Bears and be in Arlington Heights.” Warren agreed, saying that, while Arlington Heights is a “fantastic piece of property,” he wanted to make a downtown location work.
Thus, even though the Bears own Arlington International Racecourse, they are exploring options closer to Chicago downtown. The team’s preferred site, Museum Campus, sits several blocks from their current stadium. Because the surrounding area already handles Soldier Field, the Bears would not need to redesign neighborhood traffic flows.
Museum Campus, though, finds itself up against another defensive front. Friends of the Park, which manages the lakefront property on which both Soldier Field and Museum Campus sit, oppose any new development. Their executive director, Gin Kilgore, cited the “ultimate costs to our residents” and the need to keep the lakefront “forever open, clear and free.” The organization threatened to sue the Bears for violating the Lakefront Protection Ordinance, which prevents future private development along the lakefront. Johnson fired back, saying that the Museum Campus would add 20% more green space and create a venue for gathering outside of the stadium.
Amid the Bears’ relocation challenges looms a funding problem. A Museum Campus stadium would cost the Bears $4.75 billion. Warren committed just over $2 billion from the team and a $300 million loan from the National Football League. That commitment would still leave $2.4 billion on the taxpayers’ dime. The Bears want to extend a 2% hotel tax in response. However, those funds would generate only $900 million and face stiff opposition from hotel workers. Governor J.B. Pritzker further dampened hopes, asserting that any tax plans for sports stadiums were not “among the highest priorities for taxpayers,” especially as Springfield grapples with a $3.2 billion budget deficit.
In spite of these challenges, the Bears are going on the offensive. “The goal we have is shovels in the ground in 2025,” Warren reiterated. “I’m confident it will happen.”
Fans are also eager to have a development break soon. As one fan put it, “If we could get a whole Bears-landia … it would be the best thing for everybody involved.”
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