Chicago Bears CEO Kevin Warren Buys Lake Forest Mansion

As the Bears looked to the suburbs, so did its CEO.

Chicago Bears President and CEO Kevin Warren and his wife, Greta, bought a five-bedroom mansion in Lake Forest for $2.25 million, the Chicago Tribune reported. The price was about $258 per square foot and almost 6 percent less than its last trade a decade ago. The move is likely to fuel speculation that the team is leaning toward building its new stadium in suburban Arlington Heights rather than downtown.

Warren, who took over as CEO in early 2023 after serving as Big Ten commissioner, closed on the 8,700-square-foot shingle-style home at 1540 Stablewood Lane through a land trust last month.

The sellers took a loss on the 1.4-acre property, which they purchased for $2.39 million in 2015. They first listed it in 2023 for $2.495 million and reduced the asking price several times before striking a deal with Warren this spring. Annie Royster Lenzke of Coldwell Banker Realty’s Dawn McKenna Group represented the buyers. The Warrens previously lived in a 2,500-square-foot Streeterville condo, which they bought two years ago for $1.74 million, or $683 per square foot.

Located near Halas Hall, the team’s headquarters and training complex, the Lake Forest mansion features a wraparound deck, a cedar shake roof and a great room with a 19-foot alder wood ceiling and stone fireplace.

The kitchen includes high-end appliances, a center island and breakfast bar. Other features include a first-floor primary suite with heated stone floors, a home office with a fireplace and a walkout lower level with a gym, guest suite and family room that opens to a stone patio.

The property carries $295 in monthly HOA dues and had a $35,839 property tax bill last year.

Warren’s purchase comes shortly after reports confirmed the team has shifted its focus back to Arlington Heights as the likely location for a new stadium.

The Bears bought the 326-acre Arlington Park site in 2023 but had been publicly weighing both the downtown lakefront and suburban options until recently. Warren has been seen as a key driver of the stadium effort; his move to the North Shore could be viewed as aligning with a longer-term suburban commitment.

He joins other Bears brass in the area, including the team’s general manager Ryan Poles, who paid $2.1 million for a home in Lincolnshire last year. New head coach Ben Johnson has not yet purchased a home in the region, according to the outlet.

— Judah Duke