Although it still needs the legislative approval of the State, the Chicago Bears of the National Football League confirmed in a letter to the fans who plan to build a new fixed ceiling stadium in the suburban Arlington Heights, ill., About 25 kilometers northwest of their current location in Soldier Field.
“We are at a strong point in the Chicago Baars franchise to build a new stadium, our future house in Arlington Heights, which will require zero state money for construction,” said Beaars President and CEO Kevin Warren, in the letter issued before the opening of the season on September 8. “This is the year to end our stadium plans, so we can officially offer a Super Bowl as soon as in 2031.”
Bearings cannot start building until they obtain the approval of the state legislature in a “ Mega Project ” bill, which would provide them with what Warren called “ long -term property tax certainty ” for a fixed -ceiling stage and a mixed use district in 326 hectares that formerly was the home of the now demolished Arlington Heights Racetrack.
The bill would allow them and other project developers in a $ 100 million rank to $ 500 million to negotiate property tax levels with local municipalities, instead of paying an annual rate based on the valued value of the property.
The bill abandoned in the spring and it will be harder to go to the autumn veto session, which requires a majority of three -fifths for all invoices.
State representative Kam Buckner (D), whose district includes Soldier Field, said that bears have a job to do.
“I don’t think bears have done the job to get the necessary number of votes in the chamber or the Senate,” he said. “People have some worries I have publicly stated, and one of these concerns is that there are people throughout the state of Illinois who want a relief of the property tax for their homes, their families, but they do not cut off in the front of the line as the bears try to do.”
Chicago mayor, Brandon Johnson (D), who wants the team to stay in Chicago, agrees with Buckner that the team has obstacles ahead.
“There is not the clearest path for them. They still have some Springfield questions [the state legislature]. . . My door is always open, “he said.
A short -term agreement reached in December 2024 between the Bears, the people of Arlington Heights and the local school districts placed the valuable value of the site at $ 125 million, its approximate value as a vacant package, and establishes taxes on annual properties to about $ 3.6 million from 2025 to 2027, whenever the Earth remains without record.
Warren said that the franchise is currently “collaborating with political, work, business and community leaders in Illinois to develop a plan for [long-term] The certainty of real estate tax and a just contribution to the essential infrastructure that will benefit the entire community. “
If the legislation approves the measure during the October Veto session, the Bears could begin construction by 2026 and open in about three years.
Warren said that the new place would be “able to host marquee events throughout the year, from Super Bowl to Final Four to global football games to concerts at community events to youth sports events,” adding that “we evaluated other places within the boundaries of the city of Chicago, but none was viable.”
When opting for Arlington Heights, the Bears are leaving their most recent alternative plan introduced in April 2024 to build a $ 4.6 million stadium on the property of the Chicago Museum Campus overlooking Lake Michigan. The team had said that it would demolish the soldier field and replace it with athletic gardens and fields. But this plan, which required public funding, never won any endorsement of Governor JB Pritzker.
Another place in the city that had been considered was the old place of the Michael Reese Hospital on the south side of the city, but was rejected due to narrow configuration and the railway lines that crossed it.
Justifying a transfer from the city, Warren said that the bears have played almost 1,500 regular seasonal games since the first game as a decatur Staleys in 1920, 180 miles south in Decatur, ill., And that he has played with different names, different uniforms and different cities and locals.
