Predictably and formally, the Bears have turned their stadium consideration again to Arlington Heights.
Lower than two months after the workforce switched its public messaging to mirror that their sole focus was now not on constructing a downtown stadium, it went a step additional Friday.
In a press release, the Bears stated they have been centered on constructing on the 326-acre property they personal in Arlington Heights.
“Over the previous few months, we now have made vital progress with the leaders in Arlington Heights, and sit up for persevering with to work with state and native leaders on making a transformative financial growth challenge for the area a actuality,” the workforce stated in a press release.
On the NFL’s annual assembly in March 2024, president/CEO Kevin Warren stated that constructing on the lakefront website adjoining to Soldier Discipline gave the workforce the “greatest alternative for achievement.” A month later, they unveiled plans for the $4.7 million museum campus challenge. It didn’t generate the monetary momentum from state and native officers that the workforce had hoped.
The tonal change on the similar annual conferences a 12 months later, although, made it clear that the Bears take into account Arlington Heights to be the most effective path ahead.
“To have that stunning piece of land that has the nice topography — you may truly see downtown from there,” Warren stated on the March assembly, which was held at The Breakers in Orlando. “To have the Salt Creek that runs in between it, it’s nearly break up equally from an acreage standpoint. And also you consider the Metra spots — it has an Arlington Park location there.”
The Bears will ask for no public funding for the stadium itself in Arlington Heights, versus the Lakefront property. As an alternative, they need public cash for use for infrastructure enhancements in Arlington Heights.
A property tax certainty has made the previous Arlington Worldwide Racecourse extra enticing for the reason that village board handed modifications in December. The Bears have been cautious to emphasize that an Arlington Heights deal isn’t but a certain factor. Warren nonetheless desires to start development in some unspecified time in the future this 12 months.
