Bears Stadium Glossary
HB 910
The Illinois bill tied to public financing for a new Chicago Bears stadium. It cleared committee 13-7 on February 26, 2026, passed the House 78-32 on April 22, then died without a Senate vote when the spring session ended June 1.
HB 2789
The earlier Illinois vehicle for the stadium property-tax plan. Its structure was carried into HB 910, which became the bill the House actually passed in April 2026.
Indiana SB 27
The Indiana law authorizing up to $1 billion in public financing for a Bears stadium in Northwest Indiana. It passed 95-4 and was enacted in February 2026. The Bears have not signed any agreement with Indiana.
Soldier Field
The Chicago Bears' home stadium on the Chicago lakefront, opened in 1924 as a war memorial. The Bears' lease runs through 2033.
Arlington Heights
The northwest Chicago suburb where the Bears bought the former Arlington International Racecourse and pitched a 326-acre stadium district. The plan stalled over property taxes and public infrastructure costs.
Kevin Warren
President and CEO of the Chicago Bears and the public face of the stadium push. Before Chicago he was with the Minnesota Vikings during the U.S. Bank Stadium project.
PSL
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.
ETFE
A lightweight plastic film used for stadium roofs and domes. It has a far shorter track record than the masonry of Soldier Field, which is central to the durability case against a dome.
Public Trust Doctrine
The legal principle that certain lands, including the Chicago lakefront, are held in trust for the public and cannot simply be handed to private development. It underpins the case for keeping the lakefront open.
Lakefront Protection Ordinance
Chicago's legal framework for keeping the lakefront open and in public hands. Together with the public trust doctrine, it governs what can and cannot be built on the shoreline.
TIF
Tax increment financing diverts future property-tax growth in a district to pay for development there. It is a common mechanism in stadium-subsidy deals and a key part of who-pays math.
U.S. Bank Stadium
The Minnesota Vikings' stadium, built with a $498 million public subsidy during Kevin Warren's tenure with the Vikings. It is the precedent his Chicago track record is measured against.
Halas Hall
The Chicago Bears' headquarters and practice facility in Lake Forest, Illinois. It is not moving regardless of where a stadium is built.
Northwest Indiana
The corner of Indiana near Hammond and Lake Michigan floated as an out-of-state stadium site under SB 27. It faces real infrastructure and access hurdles.