Bears brief NFL owners on stadium plans at meetings in Orlando
The Chicago Bears met with NFL owners on Tuesday in Orlando to brief them on their push for a new stadium.
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said plans for the team's two main stadium options in Arlington Heights, Illinois, and Hammond, Indiana, were presented at Tuesday's NFL owners meetings in Orlando.
"We're in the midst of what I would call a very significant stadium construction period and/or significant renovations. There was a specific update on the Bears with respect to the two sites that they're evaluating that are viable in the Bears' minds, and others, and ours. One in Illinois and one in Indiana," he said.
Illinois state Rep. Kam Buckner (D-Chicago) said the NFL owners' meeting in Orlando doesn't change anything in Springfield, where state lawmakers are working daily to keep the Bears in Illinois. Gov. JB Pritzker and state lawmakers have been negotiating legislation that would provide property tax breaks for new Bears stadium.
Pritzker said he expects a deal to be done before the end of the spring legislative session on May 31.
Buckner said lawmakers continue to make moves in Springfield to keep the Bears in Illinois and away from Indiana.
While analysts have said losing the Bears to the suburbs or Indiana would be a major blow for Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson, Buckner said lawmakers are not picking winners or losers in their bid to keep the Bears in Illinois.
"Listen, we are not site selectors here in the state capitol. Our job is to create a framework that allows the Bears to make the prudent decision to stay here in the state of Illinois," he said. "Now, does that mean Arlington Heights? That has been the core of the conversation has been around the Arlington Heights parcel of land, and what that would look like. Obviously, the Bears already own that space. There has recently been more conversation about whether the city of Chicago is still a part of the conversation."
The Bears purchased the former Arlington Park racetrack in 2023, but have yet to move forward with plans to build a new domed stadium there as they continue to weigh a move to either Arlington Heights or Hammond, Indiana.
While Johnson has continued to insist he wants the Bears to stay in Chicago, Pritzker has slammed the mayor for having "no plan" to keep the Bears in the city.
"We are three years in now, and he still has no plan. So, the Bears have said publicly, and I think they said so last Friday again, that they have now only two options, and that's the state of Indiana or Arlington Heights," Pritzker said on Monday.
But with less than two weeks until the end of the spring legislative session in Springfield, Johnson still sees Chicago as a realistic option for the Bears.
"We did two years ago. It's still the best plan. In fact, have you seen Arlington Heights' plan?" Johnson said last week. "There's only one plan right now, and that's the plan to keep the Bears in the city of Chicago."
Johnson was referring to the Bears' 2024 announcement of a $4.7 billion plan for a new domed lakefront stadium complex. The plan would ask taxpayers to kick in half of the costs of the overall project; which includes a $3.2 billion domed stadium and $1.5 billion in infrastructure improvements on the Museum Campus, where Soldier Field is located.
However, Pritzker and state lawmakers have scoffed at plans to help directly finance a Bears stadium, and instead have focused on negotiating possible property tax breaks for the Arlington Heights stadium plan, and support for infrastructure costs such as roads and utilities that would be needed for the project.
The Bears have moved so far away from that lakefront stadium plan, it's barely mentioned on their stadium website anymore.
Illinois state lawmakers have until May 31 to pass an economic development package that could help keep the Bears in Illinois. If that doesn't happen, Indiana may end up with the home-field advantage.