New Bears stadium misses funding support

Article posted by Coliseum, November 5^th, 2025

Image: MANICA Architecture

The Chicago Bears’ plans for a new stadium have been hit by a setback after missing out on funding support from the Illinois General Assembly.

Forbes said the Assembly has now adjourned its abbreviated fall session without introducing any measures related to the Bears’ pursuit of a $3 billion stadium in suburban Arlington Heights.

The legislature will return to Springfield on January 13, and the latest delay suggests the team will remain at Soldier Field at least through 2029.

The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago (US). The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) North Division. The 61,500-capacity Soldier Field serves as their home ground.

Team president Kevin Warren had been pushing to begin construction before the end of 2025, with three years needed to complete the project.

In a letter to fans in September, Warren said “this is the year” to finalize plans so the team could bid to host a Super Bowl “as soon as 2031”.

He said the stadium would “require zero State money for construction” but the team would need the legislature to pass a Bill in October to start construction this year.

That Bill would have frozen property taxes for large-scale construction projects such as the stadium. Warren maintains the bill could help create 56,000 jobs during construction and 9,000 permanent jobs.

The Bears’ focus for a new home has fluctuated between a tract of land they own in Arlington Heights to the City and then back to the suburb.

However, Forbes further stated that the franchise has not been able to push past opposition from Governor JB Pritzker and legislators determined to keep the team in Chicago.

Pritzker recently said at the Economic Club of Chicago, “I love the Bears, and I love them even more when they win. But that has nothing to do with my decision making about what the state will do with building stadiums.”

Among Pritzker’s concern is the Illinois Sports Facility Authority’s outstanding debt of $534.4 million tied to renovations of Soldier Field completed in 2003. He has said the team should first eliminate that debt before seeking another round of funding.

During the October legislative session, the Bears sent a letter to Chicago-based state rep Kim Buckner and senator Bill Cunningham offering a payment of $25 million to benefit the city and Chicago Park District as well as an annual payment of $250,000 beginning in 2028.

The Bears said in the letter, “There seems to be a misconception that the Chicago Bears are responsible, or should be responsible, for some of the debt.

“Repayment of the bonds is entirely the obligation of the ISFA and not dependent on the Chicago Bears playing at Soldier Field. The team has paid its contractual share toward the 2003 stadium renovations and has no obligation to repay the existing obligations of the ISFA and does not have the legal authority to direct the ISFA’s fiscal management.”

The Bears’ focus on a 326-acre stadium site that was previously the Arlington Park horse track — purchased by the team in 2021 — followed the dream of building a $4.7 billion complex on the lakefront, adjacent to Soldier Field.

Warren and the team’s ownership seemed hopeful they would face fewer obstacles on a less ambitious project in the suburbs but that isn’t proving the to be the case.

Since moving to Chicago in 1921, the Bears have never owned their stadium whether playing at the 41,649-capacity Wrigley Field in Chicago from 1921 to 1970, or the Soldier Field since then.

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