The Bears can't start building until they get approval from the state legislature on a “mega project” bill that would provide them with what Warren called "long-term property tax certainty" for a fixed-roof stadium and mixed-use district on 326 acres that formerly was the home of the now demolished Arlington Park horse-racing track, which Churchill Downs, Inc., sold to the Bears organization in 2023.

The bill would enable them and other developers of projects in the $100-million to $500-million range to negotiate property tax levels with local municipalities, rather than paying an annual rate based on the property's assessed value.

The bill languished in the spring and will be harder to pass in the fall veto session, which requires a three-fifths majority for all bills. 

State Rep. Kam Buckner (D), whose district includes Soldier Field, has said the Bears have work to do. 

"I don't think the Bears have done the legwork to be able to get the requisite number of votes in the House or Senate," he said. "People have some concerns that I've voiced publicly, and one of those concerns is that there are people across the state of Illinois who want property tax relief for their homes, their families, but they don't get to cut to the front of the line like the Bears are trying to do." 

Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson (D), who wants the team to stay in Chicago, agrees with Buckner that the team has hurdles ahead. 

“There’s not the clearest path ahead for them. They still have some asks of Springfield [the state legislature]. . . my door is always open,” he said. 

A short-term agreement reached in December 2024 between the Bears, the village of Arlington Heights and local school districts put the site’s assessed value at $125 million—its approximate value as a vacant parcel—and sets annual property taxes at about $3.6 million from 2025 through 2027, provided the land remains unimproved. 

Warren said the franchise is currently “partnering with political, labor, business and community leaders across Illinois to develop a plan for [long-term] property tax certainty and a fair contribution toward essential infrastructure that will benefit the entire community.”

If the legislature passes the measure during the October veto session, the Bears could begin construction in 2026 and open in about three years.

Warren said the new site would be "capable of hosting marquee events year-round, from the Super Bowl to the Final Four to global soccer games to concerts to community events to youth sporting events," adding that "we thoroughly evaluated other sites within Chicago's city limits, but none were viable." 

In opting for Arlington Heights, the Bears are dropping their most recent alternate plan introduced in April 2024 to build a $4.6-billion domed stadium on property in Chicago’s Museum Campus overlooking Lake Michigan. The team had said it would demolish Soldier Field and replace it with gardens and athletic fields. But that plan, which required public funding, never won an endorsement from Gov. J.B. Pritzker.

Another city site that had been considered was the former Michael Reese Hospital site on the city's south side, but it was rejected due to a narrow configuration and rail lines crossing it.

Justifying a move out of the city, Warren noted that the Bears have played almost 1,500 regular season games since its first game as the Decatur Staleys in 1920, 180 miles to the south in Decatur, Ill., and that it has played with different names, different uniforms and in different cities and venues.