At this point, it’s pretty clear that the Chicago Bears’ long-term future isn’t at Soldier Field. But it’s also unclear where their long-term future actually is.
Since 2021, the Bears have been searching for the site of their new stadium. Five years later, they haven’t come much closer to finding it. When their search began, all momentum seemed to point toward Arlington Heights – a Chicago suburb home to Arlington Park, a former horse race track, which the Bears had purchased. Since then, direction has shifted several times.
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There were efforts by a former Chicago mayor to get a dome built over Soldier Field – which is owned by the Chicago Park District, not the Bears – to entice the team to remain in Chicago. The Bears did not pursue this option.
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Then there was an issue with the valuation of the Arlington Heights property that would make the team pay higher property taxes. That led to a massive roadblock in the Bears’ plans to start developing the Arlington Park area into a new entertainment district surrounding the new stadium.
As desire for a move to Arlington Heights slowed, the Bears announced they’d instead pursue a relocation plan back within the Chicago city limits. The team announced a plan to build a new, domed stadium south of Soldier Field on the Lake Michigan shore in early 2024.
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But by April 2025, momentum had split again. Bears team president Kevin Warren said the team was weighing both of its options – a new site downtown and the one in Arlington Heights – with the goal of eventually beginning construction by the end of 2025.
Momentum would shift twice more before the end of the year.
The Bears announced in September they were fully committed on the Arlington Heights plan only to come back in December and say they were expanding their search efforts to include Northwest Indiana. In 2026, the push has been behind a move to Hammond, Indiana, but the situation – as has been the case since the beginning of this process in 2021 – appears to remain fluid.
Bears stadium timeline: From Chicago to Arlington Heights to Hammond
The Bears’ search for a new stadium site has been a bumpy, winding road – and they still haven’t finalized their plan. Here’s everything that has happened so far:
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September 29, 2021
The Bears announce their Purchase and Sale Agreement with Churchill Downs, Inc. for the site of the Arlington International Racecourse in Arlington Heights, Illinois – 32 miles away from Soldier Field.
July 2022
Then-Chicago mayor Lori Lightfoot proposes adding a dome to Soldier Field in effort to encourage the Bears to remain in the city. However, the team rebuffs the proposal, doubling down on their intent to develop the site in Arlington Heights.
“The only potential project the Chicago Bears are exploring for a new stadium development is Arlington Park,” a Bears spokesperson said in a statement to the Daily Herald at the time. “As part of our mutual agreement with the seller of that property, we are not pursuing alternative stadium deals or sites, including renovations to Soldier Field, while we are under contract.”
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September 2022
Bears release renderings of their plans for the development of the Arlington Heights site, showing off their preliminary plans for the stadium and surrounding district.
February 13, 2023
The sale of the Arlington Heights site goes final with a $197.2 million price tag. The Bears say at the time that their purchase of the site does not guarantee they’ll follow through with building their new stadium – and surrounding “entertainment district” – there.
“There is still a tremendous amount of due diligence work to be done to determine if constructing an enclosed state-of-the-art stadium and multi-purpose entertainment district is feasible,” the team said in a statement.
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June 2023
The Bears’ Arlington Heights development plan stalls. Chicago PBS station WTTW reports that the snag is a result of Cook County Assessor Fritz Kaegi’s valuation of the Arlington Heights property higher than the team anticipated, leading to a high property tax bill.
“The property’s original assessment at five times the 2021 tax value, and the recent settlement with (former site owner) Churchill Downs for 2022 being three times higher, fails to reflect the property is not operational and not commercially viable in its current state,” the Bears said in a statement.
Early 2024
“Negotiations over property taxes reached a $100 million impasse,” according to ESPN’s Courtney Cronin. The impasse drives the Bears’ attention to a different site, south of Soldier Field and still within the Chicago city limits.
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ESPN reports in March that the team’s new plan involves committing more than $2 billion toward building a new, publicly owned domed stadium.
“The Chicago Bears are proud to contribute over $2 billion to build a stadium and improve open spaces for all families, fans and the general public to enjoy in the City of Chicago,” Bears team president and CEO Kevin Warren told ESPN in a statement. “The future stadium of the Chicago Bears will bring a transformative opportunity to our region – boosting the economy, creating jobs, facilitating mega events and generating millions in tax revenue. We look forward to sharing more information when our plans are finalized.”
In April, the Bears reveal renderings of the proposed stadium project south of Soldier Field, estimated to cost $4.7 billion. While Chicago mayor Brandon Johnson openly championed the project, Illinois governor JB Pritzker was less enthused, given the expectation the Bears would request taxpayer funds to help build the stadium.
“I’m highly skeptical of the proposal that’s been made and I believe strongly that this is not a high priority for legislators and certainly not for me, when I compare it to all the other things,” Pritzker said.
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October 9, 2024
Warren says the Bears are entirely focused on the stadium project on the lakeshore in Chicago, south of Soldier Field and Chicago’s Museum Campus. He also offers a tentative timeline for the start of actual development of the stadium and surrounding area.
“We’re continuing to make progress,” he said. “We stay focused still to be able to be in the ground, start construction sometime in 2025. We’re having regular meetings with key business leaders, key politicians, just staying focused and on course.”
April 2, 2025
The Chicago Tribune reports that momentum has shifted back toward the Bears pursuing a stadium development project in Arlington Heights.
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“The focus now is both downtown and Arlington Heights,” Warren said after the conclusion of the 2025 owners meetings.
The Tribune goes on to report that progress had been made to resolve “tax dynamics” holdup that had led the Bears to pivot away from Arlington Heights one year prior. And Warren stands by his goal to begin construction at one of the sites by the end of 2025.
“My goal still remains to be able to move dirt around in 2025,” he said. “Which is important because there is a lot of preconstruction work that needs to go into these projects.”
September 8, 2025
Warren pens an open letter to Bears fans declaring Arlington Heights “the only site within Cook County that meets that standard” in the team’s vision for a new stadium on the day of the team’s season-opening game.
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Cronin reports that a main reason the Bears had to scrap their plan for a new lakefront stadium once again had to do with taxes and clashing visions for how the development project would be funded. The ESPN reporter wrote that the team was unable to alleviate concerns about the “burden placed on taxpayers to fund the infrastructure.”
December 17, 2025
In another open letter to Bears fans, Warren announces that the team plans to explore an expanded search for a new stadium site after hitting a roadblock in negotiations with the state of Illinois over their current plan. The expanded search includes both the Arlington Heights site, but also “opportunities throughout the wider Chicagoland region,” Warren wrote, “including Northwest Indiana.”
According to ESPN, the Bears had been seeking tax breaks and $855 million in public funds to help build the new stadium. Illinois’ state lawmakers balked at that request, leading to another roadblock in the team’s Arlington Heights development vision.
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Warren wrote: “We have not asked for state taxpayer dollars to build the stadium at Arlington Park. We asked only for a commitment to essential local infrastructure (roads, utilities, and site improvements) which is more than typical for projects of this size. Additionally, we sought reasonable property tax certainty to secure financing. We listened to state leadership and relied on their direction and guidance, yet our efforts have been met with no legislative partnership.
“We have been told directly by State leadership, our project will not be a priority in 2026.”
February 2026
Momentum builds for the Bears to move to Northwest Indiana. Indiana governor Mike Braun posts on social media site X on Feb. 19 that Indiana “identified a promising site near Wolf Lake in Hammond,” a city bordering Chicago and the Illinois border.
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The same day, Indiana’s state House Ways and Means Committee unanimously passes an ammended version of Senate Bill 27. The bill proposes to create a Northwest Indiana Stadium Authority, which would be in charge of issuing bonds to finance the construction of the stadium.
The Bears released their own statement via NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport on Feb. 19, declaring Senate Bill 27 “the most meaningful step forward in our stadium planning efforts to date.”
Rapoport also reported on Feb. 19 that Illinois lawmakers canceled a meeting set for Thursday morning in the state House, “where a project bill (involving the Bears) was to be discussed.”
Matt Hill, who is Pritzker’s Deputy Chief of Staff, writes on X, “Illinois was ready to move this bill forward. After a productive three hour meeting yesterday (Feb. 18), the Bears leaders requested the ILGA (Illinois General Assembly) pause the hearing to make further tweaks to the bill. This morning, we were surprised to see a statement lauding Indiana and ignoring Illinois.”
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Within a week, Indiana legislators vote to approve Senate Bill 27, and Braun signs it into Indiana state law one week later, on Feb. 26.
May 21, 2026
The Bears declare that all plans to build a stadium within the Chicago city limits are done and that the team’s future stadium will be in either Arlington Heights or Hammond, Indiana.
“The Chicago Bears have exhausted every opportunity to stay in Chicago, which was our initial goal,” the team said in a statement. “There is not a viable site in the city.”
June 5, 2026
Momentum continues toward a Bears move to Indiana. The team releases a statement saying it’s moving forward with the development plan in Hammond.
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“We believe a world-class stadium project in Hammond will transform the region, connecting Northwest Indiana to the South Side of Chicago through the Loop and across neighborhoods and suburbs stretching north of the city,” Bears chairman George H. McCaskey and team president and CEO Kevin Warren said in a statement. “It will bring Chicagoland together and deliver new opportunities to its residents and businesses.”
Chicago mayor Brandon Johnson said he was “not surpris[ed]” by the announcement and expressed skepticism about the Bears’ proposed relocation.
“Without a final site selection, until we see shovels in the ground in Hammond, the City of Chicago will continue to engage in discussions grounded in the interests of our residents.”
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Bears’ new stadium timeline has no clear finish line yet
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