The Chicago Bears football team is threatening to move to neighboring Indiana in the battle for a new stadium. Club president and CEO Kevin Warren said in an open letter that the long-established NFL franchise is now also considering locations outside Illinois after no binding commitments were made for the necessary infrastructure measures.

The Bears, one of the founding members of the NFL in 1920, announced in September that they wanted to leave their Soldier Field stadium and build a modern indoor stadium in the Chicago suburb of Arlington Heights. The club had already purchased a plot of land for this purpose in 2023.

But Warren sees the plans as being in jeopardy. “We did not ask for state tax dollars to build the stadium in Arlington Park,” he wrote. The club had only asked for support for “essential local infrastructure (roads, utilities, and development measures).”

This support has not yet materialized. “Our efforts have not been met with legislative partnership,” Warren explained, speaking of ‘uncertainty’ with “significant consequences.” In addition, political leaders have signaled that the project will not be a priority in 2026.

Expanding the search for a location was “not a matter of negotiation strategy.” Rather, it was about keeping all options open: “Our fans deserve a world-class stadium,” Warren emphasized.