Bears Stadium FAQ
Are the Chicago Bears moving?
As of late July 2026, no. The Bears have not signed a stadium deal anywhere — not in Indiana, not in Arlington Heights, not for a new building on the lakefront. They are testing soil at a site in Hammond, but a drilling rig is not a lease. Their lease at Soldier Field runs through 2033, and no ground has been broken on any alternative.
Are the Bears leaving Chicago?
There is no agreement to leave. Indiana passed a law dangling up to $1 billion in public money, and the Bears' board voted in June 2026 to "advance" a Hammond project, but nothing is signed — no lease, no financing, no NFL relocation vote. The team still plays at Soldier Field on the Chicago lakefront.
Will the Bears leave Soldier Field?
Not under any deal that exists today. Every relocation plan so far has stalled, and the Soldier Field lease runs through 2033. The case for staying — cost, the lakefront, and a century of history — is what this site documents.
Are they tearing down Soldier Field?
No. There is no demolition plan for Soldier Field. The Chicago Park District owns the stadium, the Bears' lease there runs through 2033, and the Park District is pushing its own roughly $630 million plan to fix up Soldier Field and the Museum Campus around it, not scrap it. The fight is over whether the Bears build somewhere else, not whether the old one comes down.
Are the Bears moving to Indiana?
There is no deal with Indiana. The Bears narrowed their Hammond search to the Wolf Lake Terminals site and started soil testing there in June 2026, but nothing is signed: no lease, no financing close, no NFL relocation vote. Even Indiana Gov. Mike Braun concedes that "until you ink it, it's not done."
What is Indiana SB 27?
Indiana SB 27 is the law authorizing up to $1 billion in public money for a Bears stadium in Northwest Indiana. It passed 95-4 and was signed in February 2026. Hammond's own mayor now says lawmakers will have to go back and amend it to fit the site the Bears are actually evaluating.
Where in Indiana would a Bears stadium go?
The search has narrowed to Wolf Lake Terminals in Hammond, just across the Illinois border. The site faces real infrastructure and access hurdles, and the claim that transit and roads are already in place does not hold up.
How much will a new Bears stadium cost?
Every version leans on large public subsidies. Indiana authorized up to $1 billion; the Arlington Heights plan sought hundreds of millions for roads and infrastructure alone, including roughly $855 million in public money. The stadium itself would run into the billions.
Who would pay for a new Bears stadium?
The public would carry a large share under every plan floated so far. That is the whole fight: the team captures the revenue, while taxpayers are asked to fund the stadium, the roads, or both.
Do new NFL stadiums pay for themselves?
No. The claim that a new stadium pays for itself is the oldest line in the playbook, and the economic record across cities does not support it.
What is a PSL and why does it matter?
A personal seat license is an upfront charge fans pay for the right to buy season tickets. New stadiums almost always come with them, shifting cost onto the most loyal fans.
What is HB 910?
HB 910 is the Illinois megaproject bill tied to a new Bears stadium — a property-tax freeze paired with negotiated payments in lieu of taxes. The House passed it 78-32 on April 22, 2026, but it died without a Senate vote when the spring session ended June 1. Earlier versions of the plan were tracked as HB 2789.
Did the Bears stadium bill pass in Illinois?
Not all the way. The House passed HB 910 in April 2026. In the session's final hours the Senate passed a different bill — HB 958, the Municipal Stadium Authority Act, 37-17 at around 3:30 am — and the House adjourned without taking it up. Nothing reached Governor Pritzker's desk, and lawmakers are not scheduled back until the November veto session.
Can Soldier Field be renovated instead of replaced?
Yes. The claim that it cannot be fixed does not hold up. A modernization path was always viable, and the stadium has anchored the lakefront since 1924.
What happened to Soldier Field in 2003?
It was rebuilt at a reported project cost of about $632 million. The Bears and NFL contributed $200 million combined; the balance was financed publicly, with the $399 million ISFA bond principal repaid mainly from Chicago hotel-tax revenue and public backstops. By the bonds’ scheduled payoff in 2032, debt service is projected at roughly $1.1 billion. In 2006 the National Park Service withdrew Soldier Field’s National Historic Landmark status, finding that the new bowl had destroyed the old stadium’s architectural integrity.
Why does the lakefront location matter?
Chicago's lakefront is protected by the public trust doctrine and the Lakefront Protection Ordinance — the principle that the shoreline stays open and public. Soldier Field sits at the heart of that, which is part of why it belongs there.
Who is Kevin Warren?
Kevin Warren is the president and CEO of the Chicago Bears and the public face of the stadium push. He took the job in April 2023 after three years as Big Ten commissioner. Before that he was a Minnesota Vikings executive during the U.S. Bank Stadium project.
Has Kevin Warren done this before?
Yes. Warren received a $498 million public subsidy toward U.S. Bank Stadium in Minnesota. The dangle-the-suburbs, stay-downtown pattern is one he has run before, which is what our track-record coverage documents.
Browse by Topic
All Topics
Opinion
Rebuttals
Research
History