Bears Stadium News: Where Things Stand

Bears Stadium News: Where Things StandLast updated 2026-10-30. Crain's reports that Sen. Bill Cunningham and Rep. Kam Buckner have told City Hall to prepare a Chicago proposal for the municipal stadium authority framework. The mayor's office confirmed meetings with Bob Dunn about a revised lakefront stadium idea. The same reporting says the Bears and Arlington Heights are comfortable with the authority model, pending final details, and the Bears declined to comment. These are negotiations and proposals, not an announced stadium agreement. Chicago remains part of the legislation being discussed; the financing terms and any use of local taxes still need scrutiny.

2026-10-30 — Stadium negotiators tell Chicago to prepare a proposal: Justin Laurence reports in Crain's that Cunningham and Buckner told City Hall to prepare for the authority model, while the mayor's office confirmed lakefront meetings with Bob Dunn. The Bears declined to comment; their reported preference for Arlington Heights is not a site decision. Read more

2026-09-12 — Arlington Heights renews its lobbyist, just in case: The village extended its Mac Strategies contract to August 31, 2027 for the Bears-owned Arlington Park site, days after NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said Illinois and Arlington Heights should get "an opportunity ... to put their best foot forward." Source

2026-09-09 — Giannoulias, eyeing a mayoral run, pushes to keep the Bears in Chicago: Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias told CBS News Chicago the state should "fight for Chicago" and criticized a $10 billion franchise for seeking "handouts and giveaways." No new bill, lease, or site decision came with it. Source

2026-09-08 — Bears circulate Hammond dome renderings: Sample renderings sent to fans showed a domed Wolf Lake stadium with 15,000 parking spaces — 9,000 more than Soldier Field. No site, lease, or financing close came with them. Source

2026-09-03 — First fan survey to ask about Hammond by name: The Bears polled fans specifically about a Hammond move for the first time, asking about past ticket purchases and willingness to buy in if the team relocated. The team still calls two Hammond sites its "sole focus," with no final decision made. Source

2026-08-13 — Annual presser: focus on Hammond, no deal, no date: Warren said the Bears' focus was "on Hammond, Indiana," but that no final decision had been made. He gave no target date. George McCaskey said, "We'll be the Chicago Bears." Read more

2026-07-20 — McCook sweetens its pitch. The Bears don't call back.: McCook's mayor expanded his 150-acre quarry plan into an 80,000-seat dome with an entertainment district — and said the Bears have not contacted the village since June. His own estimate for the earliest opening at any site: 2031. A South Works pitch from Rep. Curtis Tarver drew the same silence from the team. Source

2026-07-18 — Next realistic Illinois vote: January 2027: Rep. Martin McLaughlin, author of one of three pending stadium plans, said there is no special-session vote coming and the January 2027 lame-duck session is the next real window for Illinois stadium legislation. Source

2026-07-16 — Warren speaks: no site, no timetable: In his first public stadium remarks since the board's Hammond vote, Kevin Warren kept Arlington Heights in play and repeated his conditions — property-tax certainty and infrastructure money. He named no site and no timetable. Source

2026-07-15 — Hammond's mayor: Indiana has to amend its own stadium law: Mayor Thomas McDermott said Indiana lawmakers must go back to the General Assembly and revise the February law to fit the Wolf Lake Terminals site. The enacted framework Indiana keeps pointing to is not site-ready as written. Source

2026-07-14 — A GOP Senate leader calls it 50-50: State Sen. Sue Rezin put the odds of the Bears staying in Illinois at 50-50, the first Illinois lawmaker to put a number on it since the session ended. If Hammond were a done deal, that number would not exist. Source

2026-07-08 — Braun: Hammond is "in the red zone" — and not inked: Indiana Gov. Mike Braun said the Hammond bid has "moved a long distance in a short time," then conceded the part that matters: "Until you ink it, it's not done." Nothing is signed. Source

2026-06-28 — Soil testing begins at Wolf Lake Terminals: Drilling rigs appeared at the Hammond site and the Bears confirmed geotechnical testing. That is site evaluation, not a deal: no lease, no environmental clearance, no NFL vote. Source

2026-06-05 — Bears board votes to "advance" Hammond: Four days after Springfield adjourned, the Bears board issued a 74-word statement saying it would advance the stadium project in Hammond, Indiana. No lease, no financing, and no land purchase came with it. Read more

2026-06-02 — Deadline tracker updated: still no groundbreaking: The running tracker now folds in the Indiana pivot, the Hammond infrastructure hurdles, and the simple fact that no ground has been broken on a new stadium anywhere. Read more

2026-06-01 — Springfield adjourns with nothing on the governor's desk: In overtime around 3:30 am, the Senate passed HB 958, the Municipal Stadium Authority Act, 37-17. The House went home an hour later without taking it up, so nothing reached Governor Pritzker. HB 910 died without a Senate vote. Source

2026-04-22 — Illinois House passes HB 910, 78-32: The megaproject assessment-freeze and PILOT bill cleared the House with votes from both parties, then sat in the Senate while the clock ran out on the spring session. Read more

2026-04-01 — NFL Annual Meeting ends with no announcement: The NFL Annual League Meeting concluded in Phoenix with no Bears stadium announcement. Warren's self-imposed end-of-March deadline had just passed with no deal signed anywhere.

2026-03-25 — "Privately funded" arena asks for a tax break too: The Bulls/Hawks 1901 project, pitched as privately funded, sought a $55 million property tax break — a reminder of how "private" stadium money tends to work. Source

2026-03-20 — Pritzker: the Bears "had not set themselves up well": Governor Pritzker said the Bears "had not set themselves up well for getting something done," underscoring how little progress the team had made in Springfield. Source

2026-02-26 — HB 910 clears committee: The Illinois stadium-financing bill passed the House Revenue & Finance Committee 13-7. Earlier versions of the property-tax plan had been tracked as HB 2789 before HB 910 became the vehicle. Read more

2026-02-26 — Indiana SB 27 becomes law: Gov. Mike Braun signed SB 27, authorizing up to $1 billion in public financing for a Bears stadium in Northwest Indiana. The Indiana House had passed it 95-4 two days earlier. The Bears have signed no agreement with Indiana. Read more

2026-02-19 — The pivot to Indiana: The Bears swung their leverage from Illinois toward Indiana. George McCaskey was reportedly furious with Warren over the move. Read more