Chicago Bears Plan New Arlington Heights Stadium Await Illinois Bill

The Chicago Bears are firmly focused on building a new domed stadium in suburban Arlington Heights, Illinois, on a 326-acre site previously used as the Arlington International Racecourse, with team leadership meeting weekly with village officials and aiming to break ground by the end of 2025. Bears President Kevin Warren emphasized that Arlington Heights is the only viable location in Cook County for a fixed-roof stadium and noted that the financing and logistics made a lakefront stadium in Chicago impractical. The project depends heavily on the passage of a state "megaprojects" bill in October, which Warren said is critical for the team to begin construction, with hopes to start moving dirt by December 2025 and complete the stadium in about 30 months, potentially hosting games by 2028 or 2029. While Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and others have expressed a desire to keep the Bears in the city, the Bears have shifted priority to Arlington Heights due to financial and legislative challenges, including resistance to using public funds for a downtown stadium. Bears Chairman George McCaskey and Warren highlighted the economic benefits of the new stadium, including job creation and the opportunity to host major events that the current stadium cannot accommodate. The Bears will remain majority owned by the Halas-McCaskey family as they move forward with this transformative development.