Chicago Bears president and Mayor Johnson continue talking as NFL team keeps stadium options open

As the Bears continue to pursue a potential move to Arlington Heights, they’re keeping their options open and maintaining lines of communication with Chicago City Hall.

Team President Kevin Warren released a joint, two-sentence statement with Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson after a second meeting between the two.

“We continued our productive discussion this week that began in early June,” they said. “We plan to have regular dialogue with each other and across our respective staffs as we work together to meet the needs of the citizens of Chicago and Bears fans.”

The joint statement highlights how the ongoing Bears saga is a delicate dance for Chicago’s new mayor, as well as its NFL franchise.

Johnson would rather keep the team within city limits than see the Bears depart to the suburbs, though the possibility of constructing a new stadium with taxpayer dollars would be a hard sell for residents, and there are precious few potential sites. The Bears would prefer a move to Arlington Heights but don’t currently have the financial resources to make their new stadium deal feasible from their perspective, so they are keeping their options open.

For the Bears, owning a state-of-the-art stadium is a better option than keeping the Chicago Park District as their landlord. But they aren’t in a position to dismiss any potential sites or relationships as they continue to search for a new deal.

Keeping the Bears in Chicago bedeviled Johnson’s predecessor, Mayor Lori Lightfoot, who floated the expensive idea of putting a dome over Soldier Field in order to keep the franchise and deflect blame if they leave town.

Now it’s Johnson’s turn to negotiate with the franchise, which spent nearly $200 million to buy land for a move but hasn’t been able to finalize the deal.

The Bears began fielding offers from other Chicago suburbs angling to host a stadium in early June.

Following a meeting with Naperville Mayor Scott Wehrli, the team released a statement saying its plans in Arlington Heights were “at risk” and that leadership was exploring other options.

At a privately organized June meeting for Arlington Heights residents, Warren said things hadn’t quite gone to plan in the project’s early stages.

“We’ve had a stalemate and a lack of communication and it’s a little more convoluted at this point in time than I thought it would be,” he said.

Warren was referring to the team’s stalled negotiations with a trio of local school districts whose finances stand to be adversely affected by potential property tax changes at the racecourse.

The Bears have repeatedly said they plan to ask local and state governments for property tax breaks and won’t proceed with the development without assurance of those discounts.

Arlington Heights Mayor Tom Hayes released a statement Thursday afternoon saying the village “has always expected that the club would explore any and all viable locations as part of their due diligence process. However, the former Arlington International Racecourse site is a unique one-of-a-kind location with easy access to O’Hare Airport, I-90, Route 53, and includes a dedicated Metra Station, and is located in the heart of the Northwest Suburbs. It is clear that the Chicago Bears Football Club understands the unique potential of this site, as evidenced by their recent purchase of the property. The Village is committed to work with the club and all other regional stakeholders to continue to explore the potential redevelopment of this site and to work through the inevitable challenges that come with any large development effort.”

The village also updated its website about the racetrack redevelopment to say that in recent weeks the village “has engaged in active discussions with stakeholders regarding the redevelopment of the site with the goal of resolving current issues so that the process can move ahead. Ongoing communications with the Chicago Bears leadership has continued. In addition, Village representatives have been meeting regularly with leaders from local School Districts to help ensure that all perspectives are heard and understood in this process.”

Arlington Heights officials also reported that demolition continues at the former racetrack, with “no issues” found in regular inspections of that work, projected to wrap up in December.