Bears President Kevin Warren wants groundbreaking for new stadium this year
CHICAGO (CBS) -- A new stadium for the Chicago Bears may not be as far off as expected.
Bears President Kevin Warren is laying out an ambitious timeline for the team's new stadium. He wants to break ground this year.
"I feel the momentum is really moving in the right direction, and we're exactly from a stadium standpoint right exactly where I thought we would be," Warren said Tuesday. "The goal is to make sure that we have shovels in the ground in 2025, and I'm confident that will happen."
But there remains a question of where exactly ground will be broken.
In addressing that question, Warren said the former Arlington International Racecourse site in Arlington Heights is a "fantastic piece of property," and "optionality does exist"—but he remains committed to the plan to build a new stadium in Chicago.
In April of last year, the Bears announced a $4.7 billion plan for a new domed lakefront stadium complex just south of their current home of Soldier Field, including added green space and other amenities at the site of Soldier Field and on the Museum Campus. This shifted the team's focus from a proposal to build a new stadium in Arlington Heights that had been the focus of attention for nearly three years.
The plan called for $900 million in public financing, which Governor JB Pritzker called a "non-starter."
In November, the Bears announced they were considering building yet another stadium on the former Michael Reese Hospital site in Bronzeville. Though the team said Arlington Heights isn't their first pick, Village President Tom Hayes is still hopeful the Bears will end up there.
But just last month, the Arlington Heights village board gave the green light to a property tax deal with the Bears and area school districts—putting Arlington Heights back on the table.
Arlington Heights Mayor Thomas Hayes said he looks forward to continued discussions.
