Bears Eye Lakefront Stadium Return

The Chicago Bears said on May 21 that “there is not a viable site in the city,” hardening the team’s public position even after city officials disclosed recent contacts about a possible lakefront return. The statement came as Mayor Brandon Johnson’s office said the team had held meetings with Chicago’s corporation counsel on terms for a new lakefront stadium, reviving questions about whether the city was still in play. The Bears then said the only sites under consideration are Arlington Heights, Illinois, and Hammond, Indiana. The dispute has spilled into Springfield, where state lawmakers face a May 31 deadline on legislation tied to a possible Arlington Heights project. ### Why did the lakefront question reopen this week? Mayor Brandon Johnson’s office said this week that the Bears had recent meetings with Chicago’s corporation counsel regarding terms for a new lakefront stadium, according to a spokesperson cited by multiple outlets. That disclosure suggested the city and team had at least discussed conditions for a downtown project after months in which Arlington Heights and Hammond had emerged as the main alternatives. (nfl.com) Illinois State Sen. Bill Cunningham, a Democrat who co-sponsored a bill aimed at keeping the Bears in Illinois, told NBC Chicago that the team reached out to the city in recent weeks about what he viewed as a hypothetical return to a stadium project if Arlington Heights did not work out. Cunningham said the contact occurred in late April and strengthened opposition among Chicago lawmakers to the state legislation. (msn.com) ### What did the Bears say in response? The Bears said in a May 21 statement that they had “exhausted every opportunity to stay in Chicago” and that “the only sites under consideration are in Arlington Heights and Hammond.” The Associated Press version of that statement was carried by NFL.com, and other outlets reported the same language. A source close to the negotiations told NBC Chicago that the recent talks with city officials were about lease parameters at Soldier Field, not a renewed stadium negotiation. (nbcchicago.com) The same source said city officials were using those contacts to try to stop the bill that would support an Arlington Heights move. (nfl.com) ### What is stuck in Springfield? May 31 is the key date in Springfield because lawmakers are scheduled to adjourn their spring session then, and the Bears have said a bill must pass for them to keep considering Arlington Heights instead of Indiana, according to the Chicago Sun-Times. The legislation under discussion would provide property-tax treatment and infrastructure support for a so-called megaproject at the former Arlington Park site. (nbcchicago.com) Gov. JB Pritzker said on May 18 that Johnson had “no plan” to keep the Bears in Chicago and said the team had publicly narrowed its options to Indiana or Arlington Heights. Johnson, for his part, continued to argue that Chicago’s 2024 lakefront proposal remained the best plan, pointing to the Bears’ previously announced $4.7 billion Museum Campus concept. (chicago.suntimes.com) ### How did Arlington Heights and Hammond become the two live options? Kevin Warren, the Bears’ president and chief executive, said in April 2025 that the team’s focus was “both downtown (Chicago) and Arlington Heights,” underscoring that the club had kept multiple tracks alive while running feasibility work. The Bears bought 326 acres at the former Arlington International Racecourse site in 2023, giving them control of a suburban option long before Hammond emerged as a serious rival. (cbsnews.com) By May 2026, the team’s formal presentations to the NFL stadium committee were centered on Arlington Heights and Hammond, not Chicago, according to Sun-Times reporting. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell also said this week, as reported by CBS Chicago, that when the Bears briefed NFL owners on the stadium pursuit, the options on the table were Arlington Heights and Hammond. (chicagobears.com) ### What happens next? The Illinois General Assembly’s May 31 adjournment is the next public deadline in the fight over Arlington Heights. If lawmakers do not act by then, the leverage of Hammond, Indiana, could increase because the Bears have said Chicago is no longer a viable site and because team officials continue to present only two active alternatives. (chicago.suntimes.com) The Bears are also continuing their work with the NFL’s stadium committee, the Sun-Times reported, after a virtual update earlier this month and plans for another meeting later in May. Those sessions, along with any action in Springfield, are the next named checkpoints for Kevin Warren, Gov. Pritzker, Mayor Johnson and lawmakers weighing the Arlington Heights bill. (chicago.suntimes.com) (chicago.suntimes.com)