Chicago Bears Bullish on $2 Billion Arlington Heights Stadium

The Chicago Bears are preparing to unveil the most detailed proposal yet for a new stadium in Arlington Heights, ditching efforts for direct public subsidies but digging in on long-term property-tax breaks.

The team is expected to roll out a formal proposal this fall, the Chicago Tribune reported. The impending proposal is the most conclusive evidence so far that the team plans to build a domed stadium and mixed-use district in the northwestern suburb.

The Bears have long eyed the 326-acre former Arlington International Racecourse site, which the team bought for $197 million in February 2023. The latest plan calls for restaurants, entertainment and housing alongside the stadium, with team officials projecting about 9,000 permanent jobs. The project would allow Illinois to host marquee events like the Super Bowl and NCAA Final Four.

What sets the Bears’ proposal apart from recent stadium deals in Nashville and Buffalo — which secured $1 billion-plus in taxpayer subsidies — is the team’s pledge to fund construction privately. But that doesn’t mean the team is going it alone. Executives are pressing Springfield to let them negotiate long-term property tax assessments, a move critics say would still amount to a major public concession. Two pending bills could provide a framework, but lawmakers are unlikely to act until spring. The Bears would contribute $2 billion, and the NFL would pony up $300 million, but the team would still seek $900 million from the state to make the projected $3.2 billion cost of the stadium build work.

Chicago leaders are wary. City officials don’t want to be seen as helping the Bears leave Soldier Field, where the team’s lease runs through 2033, and some argue the franchise should first pay off the $534 million in debt tied to the stadium’s 2003 renovation. An early exit would cost the team up to $84 million.

Mayor Jim Tinaglia of Arlington Heights called the stadium a “win-win” for the suburbs and city alike. Supporters also note that only three NFL venues — the Los Angeles Chargers’ SoFi Stadium, the New York Giants and Jets’ MetLife Stadium and the New England Patriots’ Gillette Stadium — were built entirely with private dollars, and each leveraged tax breaks or nearby entertainment zones.— Eric Weilbacher