Here’s how Chicago Bears' stadium timeline compares to other recent NFL projects

The Bears stadium situation took a while to come up when Bears chairman George McCaskey and team president and CEO Kevin Warren met with reporters at Halas Hall on Jan. 7.

Warren answered his lone question about it halfway through his 11-and-a-half-minute press conference. McCaskey wasn’t asked about it until eight minutes into his time with reporters.

Another disappointing season and a fifth head coaching search since McCaskey took over as chairman in 2011 rightfully was the main focus that day. But where the team will call home next continues to hang in the balance.

Sunday marked two years since the team named Warren as its new president and CEO. One of his main missions when he took over was to help the McCaskey family find the Bears’ future home before the team’s Soldier Field lease expires in 2033.

“It’s not taking too long,” McCaskey said of the process. “These things take time. We’re making progress. And we’re looking forward to a good result.”

The Bears’ search has had twists and turns since the team submitted a bid to buy Arlington Park in June 2021. Under then-team president Ted Phillips, the Bears unveiled plans for a $5 billion stadium and mixed-use development for the site in September 2022 and closed on its sale in February 2023 for $197.2 million.

But a property tax dispute with Arlington Heights-based schools forced the Bears to look elsewhere, leading other Chicago suburbs to throw their hat into the ring.

Under Warren’s leadership, the Bears shifted their focus to the Museum Campus just south of Soldier Field. The team and Chicago mayor Brandon Johnson revealed a plan for a $3.2 billion stadium in April.

“I feel that we made a massive amount of momentum,” Warren said. “Again, I’ve been here 20 months and we’ve made great progress. But along those lines, we own 326 acres of beautiful land in Arlington Heights. It’s a fantastic piece of property. We were able to get the memorandum of understanding done there. So optionality does exist, but I’ll remain steadfast that the goal remains that we have shovels in the ground in 2025 and I’m confident that will happen.”

Whether that happens remains to be seen. Illinois lawmakers haven’t been open to public funding for the Museum Campus stadium but showed willingness if the Bears choose the former Michael Reese Hospital location in Chicago’s Bronzeville neighborhood, according to Fox 32 Chicago. The Bears also won their property tax battle in Arlington Heights,

With the understanding that each state’s and municipality’s procedures are different, the Bears’ search for a new home has matched some of the longest in the NFL recently. Here’s how the Bears’ stadium search compares to other recently constructed stadiums.

U.S. Bank Stadium, Minnesota Vikings

Starting with the Vikings makes the most sense given Warren’s connection to the process. He served in a couple of roles with the team from 2005 to 2019.

The Vikings’ search for a new home had been years in the making but didn’t fully take shape until Mark Wilf officially bought the team in May 2005. Wilf inherited an agreement with neighboring Anoka County and announced a $675 million stadium proposal a couple of months after he took over. But the county walked away from the deal a year later once the Vikings shifted their focus to downtown Minneapolis.

Minnesota started a string of different stadium proposals after it began buying property around the Metrodome in downtown Minneapolis in 2007. In April 2007, the Vikings presented a plan along with the Metropolitan Sports Facilities Commission for a $954 million stadium. The MSFC unveiled another plan in late 2009 for $870 million and a Minnesota House panel defeated a $791 million proposal in June 2010.

The need for a new stadium became more apparent after the Metrodome’s roof deflated in December 2010 and there was plenty of interest. Hennepin County left the race in 2011, but neighboring Ramsey County officials announced an agreement for a $1.1 billion stadium in Arden Hills.

The Vikings ultimately ended up on the site near the Metrodome after Gov. Mark Dayton announced an agreement in March 2012 for a $975 million project. The Minnesota legislature and Minneapolis city council approved public funding in May 2012 where the state put in $348 million and a Minneapolis hospitality tax covered $150 million.

The team broke ground on the stadium in December 2013 and opened in July 2016.

New Highmark Stadium, Buffalo Bills

The Bills are one of two teams who are actively building a new stadium in the NFL.

After a few years of looking into whether to renovate Highmark Stadium or build a new stadium, the Buffalo News reported in August 2021 that the Pegula family wanted $1.1 billion for a fully publicly funded stadium in Orchard Park. Later that month, the Bills submitted a $1.4 billion stadium proposal to New York state and Erie County officials.

The parties announced a deal for the stadium to be built in March 2022. New York contributed $600 million in funding while Erie County added $250 million, the Bills put in $350 million and the NFL via a G-4 loan contributed $200 million.

New Highmark Stadium broke ground in June 2023 and is expected to be ready for the start of the 2026 season.

New Nissan Stadium, Tennessee Titans

The Titans are also building a new stadium after determining that renovations would cost too much for their stadium.

Tennessee and Nashville Mayor John Cooper announced a $2.1 billion plan to build a new stadium in October 2022. Nashville’s metro council approved the plan in April 2023, with $840 million coming from the Titans and $500 million from the state of Tennessee contributing. The remaining $760 million is from revenue bonds from the Metro Sports Authority.

The new stadium broke ground in February and is scheduled to be complete for the 2027 season.

Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta Falcons

Although the Georgia Dome opened in 1992, Falcons owner Arthur Blank wanted to build a new stadium in 2010 to host events like the Super Bowl, NCAA Final Four and the FIFA World Cup.

Plans for a $700 million stadium were first released in February 2011. In April 2012, that price increased to $947.7 million for a stadium proposed to be less than a mile north of the Georgia Dome.

After a year of reported updates and debating location options, all within a mile of the Georgia Dome, the Falcons and the city of Atlanta agreed to build a $1 billion stadium in March 2013. The city council approved the plan later that month, which included $200 million in public funding.

The Falcons broke ground in May 2014 and the stadium opened in August 2017.

Levi Stadium, San Francisco 49ers

The 49ers’ quest for a new stadium was more than a decade in the making. San Francisco voters approved $100 million in spending for a new stadium in 1997 but the stadium was never built for various reasons.

Talks remerged in 2006 when San Francisco made a push to host the 2016 Summer Olympic Games. The city planned to build a stadium near Candlestick Park that would be used for the Olympics and converted into the 49ers' new home.

But the 49ers didn’t like the location plan and other locations and in November announced that they were focused on Santa Clara, where the team offices and training facility were located.

Negotiations with Santa Clara began in 2008. Its city council reached a preliminary agreement in June 2009 and voters approved the measure a year later. At the time, the total price tag was an estimated $937 million and the newly created Santa Clara Stadium Authority was responsible for $330 million.

However, a year later the agreement changed and the total price rose. The Stadium Authority was allowed to borrow up to $950 million to build the stadium.

The stadium broke ground in April 2012 and opened in July 2014.

SoFi Stadium, Los Angeles Rams/Chargers

The Rams’ road toward a new stadium, along with the Las Vegas Raiders', should be considered a little differently since each franchise moved to a new city.

The process for Rams owner Steve Kroenke started in January 2014 when he bought 60 acres of land just north of Hollywood Park, a former thoroughbred race course, in Inglewood Park, according to the Los Angeles Times. A year later, Kroenke’s company partnered with the owners of Hollywood Park to combine the purchased land and Hollywood Park to build a stadium.

Inglewood’s city council approved the combination of the land parcels in February 2015 and rezoned the area to include sports and entertainment capabilities.

The NFL approved the Rams’ relocation to Los Angeles in January 2016. Construction broke ground in November 2016 and the stadium opened in September 2020.

Allegiant Stadium, Las Vegas Raiders

After failing to move to Los Angeles and dealing with stalled stadium talks in Oakland, Raiders owner Mark Davis moved his focus to Las Vegas.

In April 2016, Davis committed $500 million for a proposed $1.4 billion stadium. While the Raiders narrowed their location possibilities, the Southern Nevada Tourism Infrastructure Committee approved a $750 million plan for a stadium in September.

Clark County approved a hotel tax increase in November 2016 to help finance $750 million in bonds for Allegiant Stadium, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal. Originally, the Raiders were supposed to fund $500 million of the stadium cost. However, shortly after the Raiders filed relocation paperwork, Las Vegas Sands chairman Sheldon Adelson – who had previously pledged $650 million for the project – pulled out his investment. Bank of America loaned the Raiders the remaining $650 million to fund the project.

The Raiders completed the purchase of 62 acres of land where they wanted to build their stadium for $77.5 million in May 2017. Construction on the stadium broke ground in November 2017 and the stadium opened in July 2020.