Chicago Bears stadium deal could get vote in Illinois General Assembly next month, report says
A deal to keep the Chicago Bears from moving to Indiana reportedly is closer than ever, with sources telling Crain's Chicago Business that lawmakers in Springfield could vote as soon as next month on legislation to help the team build a stadium in Illinois.
Crain's cites momentum from an Oct. 1 meeting in Chicago, featuring NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, Gov. JB Pritzker, Illinois legislative leaders, and Bears minority owner Pat Ryan.
"My understanding is that [Ryan] was in this meeting representing the business community, not representing the Bears. Roger Goodell and the NFL were there representing the Bears," said sports business expert Marc Ganis.
According to Ganis, Ryan's relationships with stakeholders might have helped move discussions forward to focus on legislation that would allow a municipality, including Arlington Heights or Chicago, to create a stadium financing authority to help build a publicly owned stadium.
"Which is effectively a stadium authority that would own the stadium, but would not, unlike other stadiums around the country, require government money to go into the stadium itself," Ganis said.
The Bears would finance construction of the stadium, while public funds would be used for new roads and other infrastructure the state usually finances for such large-scale projects. Because the stadium would be owned by the public, it would not pay any property taxes, like the Bears' current stadium, Soldier Field, or the White Sox ballpark, Rate Field.
Ganis said the legislation would likely need to pass both the Illinois House and Illinois Senate by Dec. 3, the last day of the fall veto session.
"If a real deal is not done by then, you know, the handwriting is on the wall about, Hammond, Indiana," Ganis said.
In his most recent comments on the topic, Pritzker said he's maintained communication with stakeholders, and signaled moving ahead with efforts on the bill, which would open the door on a stadium in Arlington Heights or Chicago.
"That's a decision that the Bears get to make. They're a private company, and that way they have the option. We want to keep them in the state of Illinois. If we give them those two options, I think that would be satisfactory," Pritzker said.
Ganis said, despite recent renderings like a possible Bridgeport stadium for the Bears, Arlington Heights remains the top Illinois destination, because it's been vetted. The Bears purchased the former Arlington Park racetrack site in 2023 for $197 million, and have said that site and Hammond are their only two options for a new stadium.
"Best to focus on what is available. To keep the Bears in Illinois, that would be Arlington Heights," Ganis said.
The fall veto session in Springfield runs from Nov. 17 to Nov. 19 and Dec. 1 to Dec. 3.
