The Indiana Bears? Why Chicago's Iconic Football Team Is Leaving Soldier Field

Since 1971, the Chicago Bears have called Soldier Field home, a move that was precipitated by the league's insistence that ball clubs must play in stadiums that could seat 50,000 fans or more. And for nearly 50 years before that, the team played out of the iconic Wrigley Field.

And after another half-century of club legacy, the team decided it would move to a different stadium and even bought property to do so. However, a series of complications may result in the Bears not even playing in Illinois altogether. But why?

According to the team's President, Kevin Warren, as per the Chicago Tribune, the pivot has everything to do with the expansion of the Bears franchise. While simultaneously serving the needs of its fan base.

Warren acknowledges that the decision to relocate from the city of Chicago was a difficult one to make.

In 2023, the Bears organization purchased a site in Arlington Heights, Illinois, where it intended to construct a new enclosed stadium along with a "residential development," the Tribune reported.

However, its plans aren't set in stone as there are concerns that local lawmakers "will not approve the financial incentives needed to build a new stadium" in Arlington Heights.

This is purportedly what an official from the Bears said to the paper, as these incentives are crucial for the creation of the Bears' new stadium in Arlington Heights.

Kevin Warren added that over half of all the club's season "ticket holders live within 25 miles of the Arlington Heights site."

Construction of the site, Warren contended, is a forward-thinking plan, as well. With its creation, the Bears could put in a bid to host the 2031 Super Bowl. Furthermore, getting it built wouldn't put a burden on any of the city's taxes to do so.

What it does require, however, is state legislature to get the building approved. Which, as far as Kevin Warren is concerned, is a done deal. That's because he penned in a September 8, 2025, letter to fans that the Arlington Heights site will indeed be home to The Bears.

But if that plan doesn't go through, there have been murmurs of other outcomes. In a separate December 2025 piece published by the Tribune, the outlet mentioned that the Bears may end up moving shop to Northwest Indiana.

Warren said that while putting the Bears stadium in the Hoosier state isn't entirely out of the question, the club's also considering other locations in Illinois, too.

It wouldn't be the first time a team from one state would play its games in a stadium housed in a neighboring state. New York Jets and Giants fans are very familiar with crossing over into New Jersey to see their favorite teams compete on (almost) home turf.

Arlington Heights' mayor Tim Tinaglia has expressed his commitment to bringing the Bears to the Chicago suburb. The $2 billion investment from the Bears, along with another $300 million from the NFL at large, would bring a massive amount of jobs to the Arlington Heights area.

Not to mention a boon to construction gigs needed to bolster the infrastructure to get people in and out of the arena. Which, Warren argues, wouldn't just be for the Bears, but for events all year round.

Illinois state governor J.B. Pritzker argued that construction of the stadium may not ultimately be a "good deal for the taxpayers."

Furthermore, up to another $1.5 billion would be needed from the state of Illinois to construct the stadium. These supplemental amounts, the Tribune writes, are expected to be paid back in around 40 years by Chicago's "2% hotel tax."

Current developments in Indiana legislation, however, indicate that the neighboring state is serious about getting the Bears' audience in its area.