Bears exhausted – The Chicago Bears say they have exhausted every opportunity to remain in Chicago, calling there no viable sites inside the city and narrowing stadium options to Arlington Heights and Hammond as Illinois weighs support for a project on team-owned property.
The Bears’ stadium talks hit a new, sharper wall on Thursday, with the team issuing a statement that shut down any lingering belief they might stay in Chicago.
“The Chicago Bears have exhausted every opportunity to stay in Chicago, which was our initial goal,” the team said in the statement. “There is not a viable site in the city. As a result, the only sites under consideration are in Arlington Heights and Hammond.”
The wording changes the tone of the negotiations. It’s not just that the Bears are weighing alternatives. They’re telling Chicago—plainly—that the city itself is no longer part of the feasible plan.
That statement arrives after a Wednesday message carried by the Chicago Tribune that was more limited in what it declared. On Wednesday. the Bears said they were “clear with the city of Chicago and state leaders there are only two viable stadium locations under consideration. Arlington Heights and Hammond. ” and that a decision was expected “between the two later this spring or early summer.”.
Now, the team has gone further by insisting the search for staying in Chicago is effectively over. The consequences are immediate for the political and planning landscape around the stadium question. because the Bears are no longer asking Chicago to compete with two suburban locations—they’re arguing Chicago can’t.
Indiana is ready to roll. and Illinois is working on a package aimed at helping the Bears build a new stadium on property the team owns in Arlington Heights. The Bears. for their part. appear “very intent on building in one of those two locations. and nowhere else. ” after narrowing consideration strictly to Arlington Heights and Hammond.
Chicago Bears stadium Arlington Heights Hammond Illinois Indiana NFL