Bears President Kevin Warren Wrote A Letter To Season Ticket Holders That Definitely Opened The Door To The Bears Remaining At Soldier Field

Over the last several months we re-engaged with the City of Chicago, and we are thankful for the vision Mayor Brandon Johnson and his leadership team have provided during our discussions regarding the Chicago Bears remaining in Chicago. We also have remained engaged with officials in Arlington Heights and other suburban locations to discuss the possibility of realizing our plan. We have emphasized to all these leaders that any stadium effort would be backed by considerable private investment that would lead to significant economic impact and job creation opportunities across Chicagoland. In each instance, we also stressed the need for stability and predictability along with an appropriate partnership commensurate with the long-term public benefits of the project. A public-private partnership will allow for regional improvements while providing a long-term investment in the community. We are encouraged by the progress so far, and we look forward to narrowing and defining our location in the near future.

We are committed to following a process that is methodical and intentional to ensure we get the Chicago Bears Stadium project right. There are many questions that must be answered before any final decisions are made; however, we are making progress. When the decision is made, we will be sure to have a plan for our Season Ticket Holders.

Pretty interesting little letter on the Friday before football season kicks off at Soldier Field. I think it might be safe to assume that the Bears and Kevin Warren are getting a little annoyed by the Arlington Heights municipality. Maybe Arlington Heights thought that they had the Bears by the balls once the organization took ownership of the Arlington Race Track property and started doing demolition. New demands, little amendments to the agreement, higher taxes, etc. Maybe to the point that Warren said you know what...to hell with these guys and started looking elsewhere. 

This is the second time to my knowledge that Warren has publicly opened up the stadium discussion with other locations. It wasn't so long ago that the Bears said "we are not pursuing any development projects other than Arlington". Then Warren met with Naperville. Now he's texting with his ex...the City of Chicago. Things change, and in this case the mayor changed. Maybe the Bears are now finding Chicago easier to deal with than the Suburbs. 

I think the line "A public-private partnership will allow for regional improvements while providing a long-term investment in the community" is interesting too. While any major development project requires a public-private partnership...I can't envision a scenario where the Bears don't want to own their own venue. Is there a scenario where the Bears could buy Soldier Field? Are they looking at other potential building locations in the City where the Bears could own the stadium. 

I've been onboard with the Arlington Heights move because Soldier Field stinks as a venue. Small, cramped, ugly, and out-dated. They didn't get the remodel right the first time. Having said that, the last ditch proposal by the City under Lightfoot looks spectacular. 

If the Bears could build and own that stadium at the Soldier Field location then everyone wins, in theory. Including the fans because this addresses the transportation issue which has ALWAYS been a huge problem for Soldier Field. I believe that I can get from my seat when the clocks strikes 0:00 to my apartment in roughly the same amount of time if the Bears played in Arlington or at Soldier. That is absurd. All of the little details for fans needs to be addressed no matter where the Bears end up and all the big issues for the ownership do as well. 

This has been a crazy saga so far and despite the letter saying the contrary, it doesn't appear that there has been much progress made. I want a world class stadium, that is easy to get to, with decent concessions, enough bathrooms, and a racetrack that has the same. Figure it out. 

It'll be nice to actually talk real football again. Schedule breakdown with Big Cat here