Bears Brass Addresses Stadium Site, Ownership Plan

The Chicago Bears are facing transitions amid new stadium plans and the passing of late owner Virginia Halas McCaskey.

In this aerial view Soldier Field is seen before the Carolina Panthers play the Chicago Bears at Soldier Field in Chicago, Ill., on Oct. 6, 2024. Quinn Harris/Getty Images

Major winds of change surrounded the Chicago Bears brass when speaking to the media at the NFL’s annual meeting on Wednesday.

The Bears have a new stadium in the works amid 54 years at Soldier Field, and a succession plan for ownership amid 105 years with the McCaskey family. Bears president and CEO Kevin Warren explained the latest shift in stadium plans, and Bears chairman George McCaskey explained plans to keep the team in the family for another century and beyond after the recent death of his mother, Virginia Halas McCaskey.

“We’ve always said we intend to own the Bears for as long as possible,” McCaskey told reporters on Wednesday. “Another 100 years would be ideal. My mother set us up to accomplish that. She provided the playbook, coached us, and now it’s our turn to execute. We need to stick together.”

“[Virginia McCaskey] set it up for a smooth transition, and it’s a credit to her,” George McCaskey added. “In law school, I heard stories about people who just couldn’t contemplate their mortality, and as a result, it caused a lot of confusion and problems for the family, and she had the foresight to set it up so we don’t have that problem.”

The Bears meanwhile won’t stick with Soldier Field and now possibly downtown Chicago by the lakefront. Warren explained how Arlington Heights, Illinois is back in play. The Bears already own the 326 acres of land in Arlington.

“The focus now is both downtown and Arlington Heights,” Warren told reporters. “These are not linear processes or projects. They take time, they take a lot of energy and effort.”

“I am very, very pleased with where we are. I think we, collectively as a group, are where we thought we would be,” Warren added.

The Bears purchased the former Arlington International Racecourse in September 2021, but plans to use it as a future stadium stalled in 2023 amid property tax negotiations. Instead, the Bears proposed a dome stadium in downtown Chicago in April 2024, but that stalled, too, amid taxpayer concerns. Back to Arlington Heights, the Bears made headway in December 2024 when the city board of trustees approved a tax agreement, which settled the Bears’ property tax for the stadium site.

“These projects are so complex and difficult, they’re nearly impossible without full commitment from everyone involved,“ Warren explained. ”Even with that commitment, they’re still tough. It’s encouraging to see the focus on it.”

It won’t hinder the Bears’ goal for breaking ground on a new stadium. The Bears have a lease at Soldier Field that runs until 2033 for now.

“Yes, my goal is still to begin construction in 2025, which is critical because there’s a lot of pre-construction work needed for these projects, whether downtown, on the museum campus, or at Michael Reese [hospital site],” Warren said. “We’re only one-quarter of the way through the year.”

For now, the Bears will play at Soldier Field, which was renovated in 2003 to add additional seating. The Bears have eight years left on the lease.

If the Bears move to Arlington Heights, the team will play on another historic site. The former Arlington International Racecourse hosted horse racing from 1927 to 2021. Notable races included the Secretariat Stakes, Beverly D. Stakes, Arlington Million Stakes, and American Derby.

“This land is absolutely beautiful, it’s a great piece of land,” Warren told Pro Football Talk on Wednesday. “We are the largest land owner in Arlington Heights so I’m excited about that. In Arlington Heights you’re talking about the possibility of building a small city, with hotels, housing, to be able to do something in that part of town.”

“The interesting thing about it is that there are not many spaces (around Chicago) that can handle a stadium and so it is really down to the museum camp somewhere downtown and Arlington Heights,” Warren added. “I’m interested, I’m excited about the new mayor in Arlington Heights, and being the biggest land owner. We’ve made a lot of progress there with all the tax certainty we’ve been able to get as well.”