Chicago Bears zero in on sole $5B stadium plan with eye-catching 2025 start date set

The Chicago Bears look set to leave the iconic Soldier Field.

Instead, the organization are looking to move the team to Arlington Heights, one of the city’s surrounding suburbs.

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On Friday, Bears president and CEO Kevin Warren addressed reporters at Halas Hall and gave some more insight on the team’s plans to build its next stadium in Arlington Heights.

“We strongly believe that is the only location in Cook County that will allow us to build a stadium— the new Chicago Bears stadium—with a fixed roof,” Warren said, via Front Office Sports.

This proposed location for the next Bears stadium doesn’t come as a surprise, after the organization agreed to purchase a 326-acre Arlington International Racecourse property back in September 2021 for $197.2 million.

However, they had also been jostling with the idea to build a new stadium slightly adjacent to Soldier Field – the oldest stadium in the NFL – in downtown Chicago.

This domed stadium would have set them back around $4.7 billion, alas, these plans were not well supported by local legislators.

This is not the case for the proposed plans for Arlington Heights, with leaders there having been engaged in weekly meetings with the Bears for several months.

They are expected to break ground on their new stadium plans in 2026, but as long as they can pass the vote on the “mega project bill” in October, Warren would like to get moving in 2025 with the stated goal ‘to move dirt this year’.

“This is not a grant. This is not a gift,” Warren added. “This is not any transfer of money from the state of Illinois to the Chicago Bears or other businesses.

“This just says we’re going to allow you to negotiate the property taxes, which is critically important,” with Warren going on to explicitly state that the Bears are “not trying to avoid paying taxes.” 

Chicago currently leases Soldier Field from the Chicago Park District, paying $6.48 million annually to do so. Their current lease expires in 2033, per WTWW News, but they can terminate their agreement early, as long as they pay the penalty.

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The Bears’ plans for Arlington Heights is expected to also include plans for restaurants, retail space and real estate, with an expected cost of $5 billion, according to ESPN.

Soldier Field has played host to the Bears since 1971, and aside from their Super Bowl winning 1985 team, the organization has yielded very little success since, with Chicago currently on a four season playoff skid, and have failed to win a postseason game since 2010.

Bears relying on Williams to lead them back to the postseason

After drafting USC Trojans standout quarterback Caleb Williams with the first overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, the organization felt their fortunes were finally beginning to swing in their favour with them believing he was a once-in-a-generation quarterback.

Although he got off to a strong start, leading the Bears to a 4-2 record before the bye week, the wheels just as quickly fell off, with the team finishing the season having registered just five wins from 17.

Now that training camp is underway, with former Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson as the head coach, there is optimism that Chicago can get back on track.

However, things are never that easy in the Windy City, with Williams having so far looked poor in training camp, recorded to have missed the target on several occasions in a relatively easy drill for an NFL quarterback.

His frustration has led many to believe that Williams has already lost confidence which is a worrying sign going into the 2025 regular season campaign, especially with upgraded additions the team has made.

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This includes the veteran additions of Joe Thuney and Jonah Jackson, both via trade, with Olamide Zaccheaus and All-Pro Devin Deverney signing in free agency.

They bolster a Bears’ receiving corps that features DJ Moore and standout rookie, Rome Odunze while rookie tight end Colston Loveland joins Cole Kmet in providing additional pass catching options.

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