The Chicago Bears were planning to move outside of the city to the nearby suburb of Arlington Heights, but it sounds like that will not be happening after all, and some fans are not happy about the new plans.
On Monday, the Chicago Bears announced that they will indeed be building a new stadium to replace Soldier Field, where they have played since 1971, but it will not be out in Arlington Heights as previously planned. Instead, it will be a publically-owned stadium within the City of Chicago.
“The Chicago Bears are proud to contribute over $2 billion to build a stadium and improve open spaces for all families, fans and the general public to enjoy in the City of Chicago,” the team said in a statement. “The future stadium of the Chicago Bears will bring a transformative opportunity to our region—boosting the economy, creating jobs, facilitating mega events and generating millions in tax revenue. We look forward to sharing more information when our plans are finalized.”
It’s obviously a significant announcement, but Bears fans were not happy about it for a variety of reasons including the fact that the Bears failed to work out a deal to move to Arlington and won’t even own the stadium they’re investing $2 billion into.
Publicly owned? NFL Franchises are wild. They’re richer than ever before and still are asking the public to pay for their stadium when the public is what has made them rich.
🤡 https://t.co/bwvjTDgy7g— Shane. (@ShanePM3) March 11, 2024
Kevin Warren is useless. Was hired to build a stadium at Arlington heights and achieved nothing. https://t.co/SRvLnrnBsU
— Zach Rehfuss (@zach_rehfuss) March 11, 2024
Dear @ChicagoBears Sell Arlington Park to someone who will do something with it. You’ve wasted our time. https://t.co/zDeWs5GqQG
— Cary Wolovick (@cwolovick) March 11, 2024
“Publicly owned” good lord the Bears are beyond stupid. https://t.co/cjdkyIwKMj
— Staley Bear (@r_saunders15) March 11, 2024
Kevin Warren just blew up Arlington heights and couldn’t do his only job lmao https://t.co/8hxgNNtBrV
— 𝑀𝑜𝑜𝒽𝟥𝑒 🇵🇸 (@mooh3e) March 11, 2024
Why would they invest 2 billion into a stadium they won't own? https://t.co/iokBDWFb23
— Bryon (@BryonLear) March 11, 2024
Not owning the stadium is just like a huge miss. They fumbled this so bad. https://t.co/XYWjb6f6RQ
— Ben Radigan (@benradigan) March 11, 2024
Lolol the bears are so dumb https://t.co/m4YYpLVQRI
— Randy (@randywedo57) March 11, 2024
It’s safe to say that fans are not happy about the news.
