Open Letter: Arlington Heights

2025-09-08 · Kevin Warren, President & CEO (Bears)

Released hours before Monday Night Football home opener vs Vikings. Officially pivoted from lakefront to Arlington Heights.

What he said

The 2025 season marks an exciting time to be a Bears fan. We open the season tonight, on Monday Night Football, with a new Head Coach, a young, talented roster and a best-in-class staff. We are focused on competing for championships, and on building a transformative home for the future.

Since being hired as President & CEO in April 2023, we have invested significant time, energy, and resources to strengthen our football operations, business operations, and stadium planning. We are at a pivotal juncture of the Chicago Bears franchise to build a new stadium, our future home in Arlington Heights, which will require zero state money for construction.

This is the year to finalize our stadium plans so we can officially bid to host a Super Bowl as soon as 2031. The site will create more than 56,000 construction jobs, and 9,000 permanent jobs, and will add $10 billion in economic impact attributed to statewide construction and an annual $256 million in new business and tourism.

Moving outside of the city of Chicago is not a decision we reached easily. This project does not represent us leaving, it represents us expanding. The Bears draw fans from all over Illinois, and over 50 percent of our season-ticket holders live within 25 miles of the Arlington Heights site.

Arlington Heights is the only site within Cook County that meets that standard. It allows us to better serve our fan base and deliver a truly transformative and elevated game-day experience. The new stadium will elevate the fan experience with easy access, whether by Metra train directly to the site or a short drive with ample parking and tailgating.

For more than 50 years, Soldier Field has been our home. But so too were Wrigley Field, Memorial Stadium, and Staley Field. We hope Arlington Heights will soon join that list – not because of its steel, brick, or glass, but because it will house what is irreplaceable to this franchise: You. Our Fans. Our Family.

The fact-check

"We are at a pivotal juncture of the Chicago Bears franchise to build a new stadium, our future home in Arlington Heights, which will require zero state money for construction." — Misleading: "Zero state money for construction" is technically true but deeply misleading. The Bears still seek $855M in public infrastructure funding.
"This is the year to finalize our stadium plans so we can officially bid to host a Super Bowl as soon as 2031. The site will create more than 56,000 construction jobs, and 9,000 permanent jobs, and will add $10 billion in economic impact." — Unverifiable: These numbers come from Bears-commissioned studies. Independent academic research consistently contradicts such multiplier claims.
"Moving outside of the city of Chicago is not a decision we reached easily. This project does not represent us leaving, it represents us expanding." — Misleading: "Expanding" is spin. Moving 30 miles from downtown Chicago to a suburb is leaving Chicago, regardless of how it's framed.
"Arlington Heights is the only site within Cook County that meets that standard." — Misleading: This contradicts the April 2024 claim that lakefront was "most attractive footprint in the world." The constraint is artificial.
"For more than 50 years, Soldier Field has been our home. But so too were Wrigley Field, Memorial Stadium, and Staley Field. We hope Arlington Heights will soon join that list – not because of its steel, brick, or glass, but because it will house what is irreplaceable to this franchise: You. Our Fans. Our Family." — Rhetoric: Historical facts are true but used manipulatively to suggest leaving Chicago is equivalent to moves made 50-100 years ago.