Chicago Bears’ Stadium Funding Ignored by Illinois Lawmakers

The Chicago Bears’ long-running bid to build a $3 billion suburban stadium is on ice again, with the earliest thaw unlikely until next year.

Illinois lawmakers closed their fall veto session without taking up the team’s request for public support, Bloomberg reported.

The setback means the NFL franchise will have to wait to try again for state approval and financing, dimming hopes of starting construction any time soon in Arlington Heights. It’s the latest stumble in a saga now stretching four years, underscoring the team’s struggle to move beyond 102-year-old Soldier Field, the league’s oldest stadium.

Despite flashy renderings and shifting plans — from a proposed $4.7 billion domed lakefront venue favored by Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson to a sprawling 326-acre suburban campus — the Halas-McCaskey family–owned franchise has failed to secure the political backing it needs.

“The Bears have not handled this well,” Kennesaw State University economist J.C. Bradbury, who studies public stadium financing, told the outlet. “They’ve failed to build a compelling business case.”

The team’s pitch focused on Arlington Heights, where it owns a former racetrack site — Arlington International Racecourse — and wants $855 million in infrastructure funding and a freeze on the property’s assessed value.

The Bears even offered a $25 million lump sum to Chicago and the Park District — which owns Soldier Field — in an attempt to sweeten negotiations. But neither Chairman George McCaskey nor team president Kevin Warren appeared in Springfield during the abbreviated six-day session, leaving lobbyists to make the case.

With state coffers tightening and Governor JB Pritzker warning agencies of possible federal funding cuts, the optics were poor. The governor also insists the Bears must first pay off a $534 million debt for Soldier Field’s 2003 renovation.

“Times are about to be so tough,” said State Rep. Kam Buckner, a Chicago Democrat whose district includes Soldier Field. “How can anyone make this make sense? The Bears are tone-deaf.”

Buckner proposed a bill that would require public review, economic reporting and potential repayment of subsidies for any major stadium deal — a move aimed squarely at the Bears’ proposal.

“People aren’t talking about giving help to billionaires to build a stadium,” said Illinois House Speaker Chris Welch. “They’re just not.”

That political reality leaves the Bears isolated and in limbo. The team’s minority owners, the billionaire Ryan family, are not contributing to the stadium plan, and Pritzker has made clear he won’t spend taxpayer dollars on a privately owned venue.

Adding to the contrast, Chicago Fire FC owner Joe Mansueto recently committed $650 million of his own money to build a soccer stadium south of downtown, while the city’s other major teams — the Cubs, Bulls and Blackhawks — all play in privately financed arenas.

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said the league stands ready to help if asked, but without a state deal or deep-pocketed partners — Bears leadership are reportedly open to appealing to institutional investors with a private equity route — the Bears’ suburban dream is on the sidelines.

— Eric Weilbacher