Bears reiterate Chicago stadium options are 'exhausted,' focused on
suburban Illinois and Indiana
[May 22, 2026] CHICAGO
(AP) — The Bears reiterated Thursday they plan to leave Chicago as they
continue to look at building a stadium in suburban Illinois or Hammond,
Indiana.
“The Chicago Bears have exhausted every opportunity to stay in Chicago,
which was our initial goal," the team said in a statement. "There is not
a viable site in the city. As a result, the only sites under
consideration are in Arlington Heights and Hammond.” |
Chicago Bears players warm up during the NFL football team's rookie
minicamp, Friday, May 8, 2026, in Lake Forest, Ill. (AP Photo/Nam Y.
Huh) |
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The statement, which appears to again close the door on staying
in Chicago, comes after team president Kevin Warren said last
month at the NFL meetings in Arizona that the Bears were hoping
to choose a new site for an enclosed stadium in Illinois or
Indiana late this spring or early in the summer.
The Bears have played at Soldier Field for more than half a
century. Indiana lawmakers are attempting to lure them from the
Windy City with a plan to finance and build a domed stadium in
Hammond, about 25 miles from their current home on Lake
Michigan’s shore.
The Illinois General Assembly responded with legislation that
would give tax breaks to so-called megaprojects of at least $100
million, a plan that would encompass the Bears’ proposal to
build a complex on a 326-acre tract of land they own in
Arlington Heights.
“Both of the sites are excellent sites,” Warren said last month.
The Bears are a charter NFL franchise that has played in
Illinois since the team's founding in 1920 as the Decatur
Staleys. Since moving to Chicago in 1921, the Bears have never
owned their stadium, whether playing at Wrigley Field from 1921
to 1970 or Soldier Field since.
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