Bears: No ‘Viable’ Stadium Site In Chicago

“The Chicago Bears have exhausted every opportunity to stay in Chicago, which was our initial goal,” the team said. “There is not a viable site in the city. As a result, the only sites under consideration are in Arlington Heights and Hammond.”

Arlington Heights is an Illinois suburb approximately 25 miles from Chicago. If the Bears end up there, it would be in a new indoor venue on 326 acres of land. Despite being out of state, Hammond, Ind., is similar in distance to Soldier Field as Arlington Heights. The Indiana site would also include a new domed stadium. Owner Roger Goodell called both options “viable” earlier this week (via Michael David Smith of Pro Football Talk).

Last month, the Illinois House voted to approve a proposal to give tax breaks for megaprojects of $100MM or more. That would include a football stadium, which would bode well for the Bears staying in Illinois. But the Senate will also have to approve the legislation before adjourning on May 31, according to Patrick Finley of the Chicago Sun-Times. If the vote doesn’t pass, the Bears will likely go to Indiana, Adam Schefter of ESPN reports.

Bears president and CEO Kevin Warren wants the team to pick a site by late spring or early sumer, per Finley. Warren accompanied Bears chairman George McCaskey on a mid-April visit to Hammond, where they met with Mayor Thomas McDermott Jr. Although the franchise has played in Illinois since 1920, McCaskey said Bears fans “would get used to” Indiana (via Finley). Because Hammond is within 75 miles of downtown Chicago, the Bears – not the Indiana-based Colts – already own marketing rights there.

The Bears’ current home, Soldier Field, opened in 1924. It is now the oldest stadium in the NFL by far. The Bears began play there in 1971. Fifty-five years later, their time at Soldier Field is nearing an end. Depending on how the Illinois Senate votes on May 31, the Bears’ days in the state may also be numbered.