Already facing an uphill battle to build a new downtown stadium, Bears president Kevin Warren has sent a new message about how Chicago is losing out on major events as a result.
Nearly six weeks after Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker said it would be “near impossible” for a Bears stadium funding bill to clear the state legislature this fall, Warren again hit on the loss of marquee competitions such as the Super Bowl, Final Four, and the College Football Playoff because Chicago does not have a domed stadium, as well as the general lack of large-scale construction happening in the city.
“If we can’t figure this out in Chicago, shame on us,” Warren said Thursday, speaking before the Economic Club of Chicago. “What we have to do is stop looking at what we don’t have in Chicago. Let’s put our assets on the table and figure out what we do have and how we can come together, make this city even stronger than it already is, make it a better place, and create an incredible revenue stream for Chicago.”
The Bears are seeking a $4.7 billion domed stadium along Lake Michigan and near Soldier Field, the team’s current home facility. Despite asking for roughly half that figure in public support toward the development, Warren sought to reframe the request as an opportunity, rather than a taxpayer burden.
“There’s ways you can look at money [for a new stadium]. You can look at it as, ‘What do we have to give up?’” Warren said. “Or, you can look at it as, ‘What can we invest to come together?’ This is truly one of those situations that one plus one will equal 100.”
The Bears are still focused on the downtown location for the new stadium. Conversations, however, continue between team officials and suburban Arlington Heights, where the franchise owns 326 acres.
“I love that community. … The majority of our [season-ticket] base is up kind of north from that standpoint,” Warren said. “The biggest thing we need to figure out is the tax situation. We just need to make sure we get our arms wrapped around it. But we still remain the largest landowner in Arlington Heights, and I’m fortunate that we have a fantastic piece of property.”
Teamwork Strategy
The Bears have long contemplated working with MLB’s White Sox to tap jointly into a local hotel tax and provide public funds for both the NFL team’s own stadium and a separate proposed ballpark. As the White Sox are facing their own growing challenges, including potentially setting a modern-day MLB record for losses in a season, Warren remains open to collaborating with both that team and other Chicago-area pro teams.
“We’re definitely going to work together [with the White Sox] to see what we can figure out,” Warren said. “We’re wide open to being able to work with the multiplicity of the different sports organizations [in Chicago].”
The Bears have previously targeted a 2028 opening for the new stadium, and they say every year of delays beyond that adds $150 million to the overall cost. But facing complex political realities, Warren refused to put a drop-dead date on a new stadium.
“When we cut that ribbon—that’s the drop-dead date,” he said.
