Anything involving the Chicago Bears and their plans for a new stadium gives off eerily similar vibes to the one friend who has been making the same New Year's resolution for the past decade.
All talk, but nothing to show for it.
The Bears purchased 326 acres of land in Arlington Heights on Feb. 15, 2023. Nearly three years later, there has been no physical progress on the new home for the Bears.
Remember, Bears president Kevin Warren stated that his goal was to have “shovels in the ground” in 2025. He's a year and counting late on that.
And the Bears and the state of Illinois are both to blame for the lack of progress. Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker has remained firm in his stance that taxpayer money will not be used to help build the stadium; However, the state can help in other ways.
While the Bears and the state of Illinois have seemed to be going nowhere, Indiana’s legislature has made it clear that the state can provide the team with a site for a state-of-the-art stadium. Not only is there competition for the Bears' new home, but time may also be running out.
New update on Bears' new stadium and where it could go
According to ESPN's Marc Silverman, the Bears are ready to move forward with the deal that Indiana has presented. And lawmakers are already advancing legislation that would give the Northwest Indiana stadium authority the authority to acquire and finance the construction of facilities, according to a report by the Indy Star.
"If the Bears are told at the end of February, and they get what they want from the state of Indiana, which completely has done everything that they have been looking for so far, and they go to Illinois, and Illinois says, 'We need more time,'... From what I've been understanding is, the Bears have been at this for three years, they're frustrated too, and that they will take their bags and move to Northwest Indiana," Silverman said on ESPN 1000.
According to @WaddleandSilvy, while Arlington Heights is the preferred destination for the Bears new stadium, there could be a decision to move to Northwest Indiana at the end of February or early March pic.twitter.com/VrkthunsJy
— ESPN Chicago (@ESPN1000) February 3, 2026
Silverman also added that movement could occur as early as the end of February and reiterated that Indiana is not being used as leverage. Also, “the state of Indiana would, by far, give them the best financial agreement.”
A lot of teams in the NFL don’t play in their namesake city or state. The San Francisco 49ers play in Santa Clara. The Dallas Cowboys in Arlington. The New York Jets and Giants play in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
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If the state of Illinois doesn't act fast, then the Bears will be joining those list of teams.