The Chicago Bears started their odyssey towards a new stadium in 2022. Since then, they have traveled anything but a straight course. The arrival of new team president Kevin Warren saw a shift in the project’s direction. He hoped to convince the state government to help finance a new downtown stadium, keeping the Bears in Chicago. After two years of no progress, it became clear they were wasting their time. Thus, Warren and the McCaskey family moved ahead with the original plans for an Arlington Heights complex.
Almost every hurdle has been cleared. They have most of the financing they need, and the property tax issue was resolved. The only thing left is getting the green light from Springfield, which requires legislation. Unfortunately, they missed the primary window this spring. Warren remains hopeful that the legislature’s reconvening in October will get the result they want. According to Robert McCoppin of the Chicago Tribune, that is unlikely. However, expectations are that an announcement is coming from the Bears, intending to reveal their plans for the Arlington site, with the belief that they will start building in the spring.
That would mean being ready for the opener in 2030.
The Chicago Bears are expected to publicly present their latest plans for a new stadium in Arlington Heights this fall, officials said, with the hope of breaking ground by spring.
Bears President Kevin Warren and other officials are meeting regularly to refine their plan with Arlington Heights village officials. Sometime in September, October or November, the team will make a public presentation and answer questions about the 326-acre site, according to Arlington Heights Mayor Jim Tinaglia. Then the village planning, design and housing commissions will review the proposal before it goes to a Village Board vote. The whole process could take a few months…
…The Bears have said they will finance the new stadium themselves, but the deal still hinges on state lawmakers allowing the team to negotiate its property taxes. With other pressing matters to consider, legislators are a long shot to act in the brief veto session in October, and are more likely to consider the issue in the spring.
Things were trending this way for the Chicago Bears for months.
It felt like, as early as January, that there wasn’t enough momentum to even get a meeting with Governor J.B. Pritzker about the issue. By the time Warren realized it wasn’t happening, he’d missed the spring window. That was when the Chicago Bears made a clear pivot away from downtown and back to Arlington Heights. While this always felt like the likeliest direction things would go, the hesitation probably ended any hope of getting shovels in the ground this year. Still, the fact that the Bears will reveal their plans in the next month or so suggests they are reasonably confident they will get a resolution by next spring. One construction begins, it’s expected to take three years to complete. That would make the 2030 home opener the target. It will mark the first time in the city’s history that any of its outdoor sports teams have moved to a dome.
