In their entire 106+ years of history, the Chicago Bears, one of the charter members of the NFL, have not played their home games outside the state of Illinois. Now, the newest developments have the Bears execs looking to move into Indiana to a multi-billion-dollar dome. While fans aren’t happy, the NFL Commissioner may have given Illinois fans some hope.

Fans and locals are experiencing genuine unrest about what the future of their beloved team holds. However, the most recent news regarding the impending stadium battle, coming from NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, has truthfully admitted that Illinois is still firmly in the race.

“There’s no specific timetable from my standpoint, other than we know that they are looking at the alternate groups, Indiana or Arlington Heights,” Goodell told reporters after team owners met at an airport hotel on Wednesday, August 26, via USA TODAY’s Jarrett Bell. “We want to make sure that Arlington Heights and Illinois have an opportunity, as well as Indiana, to put their best foot forward.”

USA TODAY’s update gives both states (Indiana and Illinois) an equal opportunity to present their best offers. Goodell addressed the stadium situation after the recent NFL league owners’ meeting at a Minnesota Airport Hotel.

When asked about how advanced the Bears’ move to Indiana is, the NFL commissioner retracted his position on the question and confirmed that Arlington Heights still is a viable option, with talks ongoing with state leadership. 

“I’m involved in a lot of stadium efforts,” he further said. “It’s not unusual for me to be involved in conversations with either public officials or others. Or our staff. There are important decisions, not just for the communities but for teams and the NFL. So these are important things for us.” 

Augustus Eugene Staley founded the Decatur Staleys, now known as the Chicago Bears, in 1919 in Decatur, Illinois. Since then, the iconic Soldier Field never had a chance to host a Super Bowl final due to a lack of a dome for January weather.

Meanwhile, the Bears appeared in two Super Bowl finals, winning the first one (Super Bowl XX) in the 1985 season.

One sure thing is that staying at Soldier Field, just south of downtown Chicago, is no longer an option for the Bears franchise.

Being tenants of the Chicago Park District in the NFL’s smallest stadium, that too dome-less, while housing America’s 3rd largest media market limits possible team revenue to a great extent, while lakefront legal hurdles prevent building a modern dome. 

Following stalled city discussions, the team’s Illinois focus narrowed down to the 326-acre Arlington International Racecourse property in Arlington Heights, Illinois, about 30 miles northwest of Chicago.

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell personally toured the 326-acre Arlington Heights property with team brass earlier this year. The Bears bought that massive suburban lot for $197 million in February 2023 with plans for a domed complex in the future.

The Governor of Illinois, J.B. Pritzker, has made his thoughts on handing over public funds and taxpayers’ money to private facilities very clear. 

“The reality is that I wasn’t willing to give up billions of dollars of taxpayer money in order to give it to a billionaire-owned family, or team. As much of an emotional connection as many of us have to the Bears, and to keeping them in the city of Chicago and the state of Illinois, [the] No. 1 principle is we’re not going to foist this on the taxpayers of the state of Illinois,” Pritzker told Mitchell Armentrout of the Chicago Sun-Times earlier this offseason. 

While the Governor had their own reasons to understand the move, Bears Chairman also gave his own reasoning, admitting that a move was eventually in the cards.

Bears Chairman Explains Stadium Move

That deadlock in Illinois is what kicked off the recent unrest. Indiana, on the other hand setting up a dedicated stadium authority ready to back nearly $1 billion in public infrastructure around Hammond.

With zero tax certainty in Illinois and a billion-dollar offer across state lines, the Bears had real reason to look for opportunities out-of-state. Bears leadership has made it clear they cannot afford to wait around forever. 

Bears Chairman George McCaskey revealed that Roger Goodell has told them that ‘Hope is not a strategy.’ McCaskey is aware that they have to tackle real circumstances that come with such a big decision. 

“I think it’s prudent for us to move with pace based upon where we are. The longer this goes on, it creates complications just from a building operation design standpoint,” team President and Bears CEO Warren highlighted how important it is to get the move done as soon as possible on Thursday, August 14. 

Whether or not the Chicago Bears choose to make the move to Indiana, or they choose to stay in Illinois and choose the Arlington Heights international racecourse, the requirement of a world-class stadium is what remains imperative.