I figured Chicago Bears President Kevin Warren would have something to say about the team’s ongoing stadium situation during the NFL’s Annual League Meeting in Florida this week.
Chicago sports personality and former NFL player Clay Harbor shared a clip of a conversation Kevin Warren had with Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio and football analyst Chris Sims:
Stadium update from Kevin Warren.
If it wasn’t clear before it is now. Arlington Heights will be the future home of the Chicago Bears. #Bears #ChicagoBears pic.twitter.com/MX8Y7ZYCLO— Clay Harbor (@clayharbs82) April 1, 2025
This isn’t ground-breaking stuff by any stretch. But these aren’t inconsequential words from the Bears’ president. Some key quotes from the conversation:
- “The good thing about it is that we continue our conversations with the city of Chicago. I’ve said it many, many times that that piece of land along the lakefront is absolutely beautiful. I understand all the dynamics, I understand the politics, I understand the cost of it.”
Kevin Warren Keeps Insisting the Bears Will Break Ground on a New Stadium in 2025
- “And then, fortunately, back to George and his leadership, and his predecessor Ted Phillips – who I’m grateful for, they made a very forward-thinking decision right before I started. That was the piece of paper that was on my desk when I walked in my office in April of ’23 is that they purchased 326 acres in Arlington Heights. This land is absolutely beautiful. I mean, it’s a great piece of land. We are the largest landowner there, it’s a wonderful piece of land. So I’m really excited for these next couple of months.”
- “The Museum Campus is a little bit smaller. We’ll have a small, mixed-use. But Arlington Heights, you’re talking about being able to build almost a small city with hotels, housing, to do something in that part of town.”
HOW ARLINGTON HEIGHTS MAYOR GOT THE BALL ROLLING ON BEARS MOVE
- “There are not many spaces that can really handle a stadium, so it is really down to the Museum Campus somewhere downtown and Arlington Heights.”
Following the Chicago Bears stadium situation has been a doozy. And while I do not feel as if we are close to hitting the end of the road, I admit that I am starting to see a flickering light at the end of the tunnel.
What’s next for the Chicago Bears’ stadium project?
The major takeaway from the discussion above is that the Bears have whittled down their options for a future stadium location to two spots —somewhere in downtown Chicago and the Arlington Park property the team purchased before Ted Phillips retired in 2022 and Kevin Warren took over as Bears president in 2023. And if it feels like we have come a long way on this journey, it’s because we have. How can any of us forget Warren receiving reported interest from Naperville,Aurora,Waukegan,Richton Park, and other municipalities to be the future home of the Bears?
TAKE A LOOK AT THE CHICAGO BEARS DOWNTOWN STADIUM RENDERINGS
Things have cleared up recently, and the vibe is that almost all momentum that a downtown Chicago stadium project had has since dwindled. With that being said, it feels as if all signs are pointing toward the Bears taking their football team to the suburbs. But nothing is official until it’s officially official. Anyone who is a fan of this franchise and a resident of the Chicagoland area knows that story all too well when it comes to this team, as well as local construction projects. In other words: Stay tuned.
written by
Luis C. Medina
Luis C. Medina is a Senior Writer at Bleacher Nation. Since launching BN's Bears wing in 2017, he has written about 5 head coaches, 6 play-callers, and 10 starting quarterbacks. Previously, Luis wrote about the Cubs and MLB at BN (2015-16) and worked in the Chicago Tribune sports department (2011-16). He also co-hosted a Cubs postgame show, Outside the Ivy, in 2019. You can find him on Twitter here.
