Chicago Bears Double Down On Plan To Leave Soldier Field For Arlington Heights

SOUTH LOOP Sorry, sports fans: The Chicago Bears will be taking their talents to Arlington Heights after all.Bears President and CEO Kevin Warren broke the news to season ticket holders and later on social media in a letter ahead of Monday nights season opener against the Minnesota Vikings, bringing years of speculation to a close.

Team brass said they are focused on building out a new fixed-roof stadium on the former site of the Arlington International Racecourse in suburban Arlington Heights with hopes of hosting a Super Bowl as early as 2031.Moving outside of the city of Chicago is not a decision we reached easily, Warren wrote in the letter.

This project does not represent us leaving, it represents us expanding.The Bears have called Soldier Field home since 1971.

In announcing his teams departure from its longtime Chicago stadium, Warren emphasized that more than half of Bears season ticket holders live within 25 miles of the Arlington Heights site.The Chicago Bears belong to more than just Chicago.

We belong to the entire state of Illinois.

The Nation.

The World.

We are at a pivotal juncture of the Chicago Bears franchise to build a new stadium, our future home in Arlington Heights, which will require zero state money for construction, Warren wrote.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Chicago Bears (@chicagobears)The Bears are expected to present its latest plans for the Arlington Heights property at a community meeting in the fall, according to the Tribune.

Warren said the team expects to create more than 56,000 construction jobs and 9,000 permanent jobs, which it predicted will add $10 billion in economic impact attributed to statewide construction and an annual $256 million in new business and tourism.It also envisions that the new stadium and corresponding mixed-use development will attract major events such the Super Bowl, college basketballs Final Four, global soccer games and concerts.In 2023, the Bears purchased 326 acres of former horse racing facilities in Arlington Heights which is more than 25 miles northwest of Chicago sparking fears that the team would leave the city proper.

Warren said Monday that the team also thoroughly evaluated other sites within Chicagos city limits, but none were viable.Warren wrote the team is partnering with political, labor, business and community leaders across the state to create a plan for property tax certainty and a fair contribution toward essential infrastructure that will benefit the entire community.Arlington Heights is the only site within Cook County that meets that standard.

It allows us to better serve our fan base and deliver a truly transformative and elevated gameday experience, said Warren.Warren added that the franchise was optimistic about working with the Village of Arlington Heights to obtain necessary approvals and begin building our new home.The news comes after years of lobbying from city officials and developers to persuade the Bears to remain in the city.

In 2022, former mayor Lori Lightfoot pitched the idea of a $2.2 billion dome over Soldier Field in an effort to keep the team on the lakefront.Last year, Mayor Brandon Johnson went on a media blitz to sell taxpayers on the idea of a new, publicly funded $4.7 billion stadium that wouldve been a stones throw from the current stadium.

Neither Bears brass nor Gov.

JB Pritzker were convinced, with the latter slamming the idea of using public space and taxpayer money for the project.Johnson could not be reached for comment late Monday.

A rendering of the domed stadium proposed for the citys lakefront.

Credit: ProvidedEven the team behind the Bronzeville Lakefront megadevelopment project offered up some of their prime real estate to make the stadium happen, telling Bears brass the location would bridge the gap to Downtown.Ald.

Lamont Robinson (4th) was not ready Monday to accept the Bears move to the suburbs and said his goal remained to keep the Chicago Bears in Chicago, preferably in the 4th Ward.This project stands to create nearly 60,000 construction jobs and 10,000 permanent jobs.

Thats a rare economic injection that should be to the benefit of businesses and residents located in Chicago, Robinson said.Support Local News!Subscribe to Block Club Chicago, an independent, 501(c)(3), journalist-run newsroom.

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