The Chicago Bears have a grand vision for a new stadium. It involves building south of Soldier Field on the lakefront and establishing an elaborate campus meant to enhance the fan experience in every way imaginable. They also insist such renovations would help the local business scene flourish. Team president Kevin Warren has worked hard alongside Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson to make this vision a reality. Unfortunately, there is one big obstacle. To make the project work, the Bears need at least $900 million in public money to help with the infrastructure.
Governor J.B. Pritzker and the state legislature control where taxpayer money goes, and they’ve made it crystal clear they have zero interest in working with the Bears on what they feel is a vanity project. There may have been hopes that Pritzker might come around after researching the project and meeting with Warren to discuss it. Those were quickly dashed. In his latest comments, the governor admitted his stance remained unchanged. The Bears’ proposal offered nothing the state government would find acceptable.
“Well, I’ve done a lot of research on this topic, but let me be clear, there isn’t much change. I mean, I made it clear to the Bears’ leadership that it would be near impossible to get anything done. If there was a proposal put on the table by them that could get done, you couldn’t actually get it done probably during the veto session and would have to wait until next spring. But in reality, there isn’t a proposal on the table right now that would be acceptable to anyone that I know in the legislature.”
If Warren is dead set on getting this downtown stadium across the finish line, he must rework his proposal. That means finding more private investors to cover the cost or somehow unearthing a solution that would make Pritzker loosen the purse strings on the Illinois budget. The former seems more likely than the latter, and neither is overly appetizing. The Bears president has made it clear he hopes to have shovels in the ground by 2025. If the lakefront remains the goal, the odds of that happening feel all but dead.
That is why a pivot back to Arlington Heights seems to be gaining steam. Reports indicate the Chicago Bears have re-engaged with the suburb about the issue of property taxes. Arlington has made concessions the team should find more appetizing. If other details can be smoothed over, it is possible the Bears can kickstart a stadium by next year. They already own the property and likely wouldn’t need as much public money to make it happen. Everything hinges on how far Warren is willing to push this.
