Chicago Bears unveil plans for $3.2B stadium on Museum Campus

CHICAGO – The Bears announced plans for a $3.2 billion stadium on the Museum Campus in Chicago during a news conference Wednesday at Soldier Field. The team released the first renderings for a new enclosed stadium located just south of where Soldier Field sits now.

The total cost of the plan, including infrastructure changes in the area, could cost as much as $4.7 billion. The Bears have committed $2 billion to the project.

The stadium will have a fixed roof, not a retractable roof, but the roof will be translucent. It will provide a similar experience as U.S. Bank Stadium in Minnesota or Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, where natural light can filter through the roof. There will be a clear glass window on the north side of the stadium with a view of the skyline.

The stadium would seat about 65,000 fans for a football game. It would be equipped to hold major concerts indoors and have the ability to host the Super Bowl and the men’s and women’s Final Four. Bears president and CEO Kevin Warren noted that the IHSA could host state football championships in Chicago. He floated the idea of top musical artists doing weeks-long residencies in Chicago.

The plan includes keeping the Soldier Field colonnades and turning the site of the current Soldier Field into a park area for youth sports. The plan also includes green spaces and parks between where Soldier Field sits now and where the new stadium will be built.

“This is not an easy project,” Warren said. “But Chicago doesn’t like it easy. We like to do the difficult things. We like to do the things that resonate with people for generations to come.

“It’s time for us to do something special together.”

Who will fund the stadium?

Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson said the project “will result in no new taxes on the residents of Chicago.” That might technically be true, but the Bears are proposing extending the bonds that brought the city Guaranteed Rate Field and the 2003 Soldier Field renovations.

The Bears estimate the full cost of the stadium alone will be $3.2 billion. The Bears have committed $2 billion to the stadium. The team expects to receive a $300 million loan from the NFL for a new stadium. Additionally, the organization is asking for $900 million in public funding for the stadium.

The Illinois Sports Facilities Authority issued bonds for the White Sox and Bears for their current stadiums. A 2% hotel tax is the ISFA’s primary source of funding and originally was created to fund a White Sox stadium. Taxpayers still owe more than $600 million for those two projects. The Bears propose extending those bonds for an additional 40 years to fund their new stadium. Warren declined to say how long the Bears’ lease on a new stadium might be.

The Bears need the state legislature to approve a proposed bond extension. The legislature’s current session ends in about a month. A new stadium likely wouldn’t open any earlier than 2028.

The $3.2 billion price tag does not include infrastructure improvements, which the Bears estimate will cost a minimum of $325 million for transportation, roadway changes and utilities. But if the city wants the park space between the colonnades and other public attractions, infrastructure could cost as much as $1.5 billion, bringing the total cost of the project to an estimated $4.7 billion.

What happened to Arlington Heights?

The Bears’ stadium saga began about three years ago, when the organization first began exploring an opportunity to purchase 326 acres at the site of the former Arlington International Racecourse in Arlington Heights. The Bears ultimately did close on a $197.2 million deal to buy the land in Arlington Heights. The sale closed Feb. 15, 2023.

But plans to build a new stadium in Arlington Heights have stalled. The team has balked at the increased property tax value of the site. For some time now, the Bears have been in conversations with the city of Chicago. The Bears first met with Mayor Johnson in June. For several weeks now the Bears have focused their stadium search on the Soldier Field south parking lot.

Arlington Heights would’ve provided an opportunity for the organization to own a stadium. The proposed stadium in Chicago would be publicly owned.

“We don’t look at it in a derogatory manner of quote-unquote ‘being a renter,’ ” Warren said. “We look at it as being a good partner with each other, and that’s why we’re here today.”