The Chicago Bears want a new stadium. This is something fans in and out of the Windy City have known for quite some time.
Where that stadium will reside is still in the air, and politicians are getting involved. The city of Chicago wants the team to remain in the city, but the franchise has shifted its focus from building a downtown stadium to developing a site in Arlington Heights.
In a statement to the Chicago Tribune, a spokesperson for the Bears made the franchise's intentions of focusing on the Arlington Heights project over a downtown stadium known.
“Over the last few months, we have made significant progress with the leaders in Arlington Heights, and look forward to continuing to work with state and local leaders on making a transformative economic development project for the region a reality.”
City leaders have been vocal about their desire to see the Bears remain inside of Chicago proper but even Mayor Brandon Johnson knows that the decision ultimately rests with the organization alone.
“There’s no more pressure to apply, for me,” Johnson said this past month, via the Chicago Tribune. “I want the Bears to stay in Chicago. I do. Now look, ultimately it’s going to come down to their own decision.”
With public pressure no longer a factor that Mayor Johnson feels will sway the franchise's decision in any way, other representatives in the city have been a bit more direct in voicing their displeasure with the way this has all been handled.
“I don’t know who works with the Bears on their timing, but I would say … they’ve mastered the art of bad timing,” said state Sen. Robert Peters, who has announced a congressional run and whose district includes Soldier Field. “I wish they could master the art of having a good team instead of doing this.”
A new stadium for the Bears is coming one way or another. Whether political pressure from within the city leads to the franchise considering a downtown option again is another story, though, and one we cannot predict the outcome of.