Bears Suburban Stadium Deal Inching Forward Despite Cost Questions

More clues are emerging that the Bears have made more progress on funding their new stadium than previously believed. 

Just days after news of Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker working with an outside legal consultant to aid talks with the Bears, a state representative said property tax legislation that would aid a team move to suburban Arlington Heights neared completion.

“We were super close and just ran out of time,” Rep. Mary Beth Canty, whose district includes Arlington Heights, told the Chicago Tribune. 

The Bears, who last month shifted their focus from a downtown stadium proposal to 326 acres the team owns at the former Arlington International Racecourse, have sought legislation that would freeze property tax assessments and negotiate payments with local authorities. 

The state’s spring legislative session, however, ended over the weekend without any conclusion on that front. That means the team will need to revisit the political push in the fall, but after Pritzker had previously and tersely said, “Right now, there’s no building any new stadiums” in Illinois, discussion on the hot-button topic remains active.

“We’re going to keep working all through the summer,” Canty said. 

The Bears are looking for taxpayer help for roughly half of a proposed $4.7 billion project to build a domed stadium and mixed-use development. The situation in Illinois has had many similarities to what’s happening in Missouri, where there is a divisive debate unfolding on funding for new or renovated stadiums for the NFL’s Chiefs and MLB’s Royals. 

Pritzker, meanwhile, reiterated his preference for the Bears to stay downtown—even as both financing and land-use hurdles have significantly complicated that notion. 

“Just on a personal level, I would like them to stay in the city of Chicago,” Pritzker said at a press conference marking the end of the legislative session. “Having said that, as a private business, they’ll choose to do what they like.”