The Bears and Arlington Heights: A Complete Timeline, 2021-2026

Author’s note: I gathered the information in this post from public reporting, government documents and public records and lays it out in date order; where sources disagree on a date, I say so. It reflects what was known as of October 30, 2026. Sources are linked at the bottom. If you spot an error or have a tip, please let me know. — Joe Bjorklund

Five years, three possible homes, two failed bills and one cleared racetrack. Here is the full timeline of the Chicago Bears’ pursuit of the former Arlington Park in Arlington Heights, from the day the track went up for sale to the reported deal talks of late October 2026.

2021: The track is sold

February: Churchill Downs announces it will sell the 326-acre Arlington International Racecourse for redevelopment, while running a final racing season.
June: The Bears submit a bid. Later that month, Arlington Heights approves overlay zoning that would allow a football stadium on the site.
Sept. 25: The last race is run at Arlington Park, ending a run that began in 1927.
Sept. 29: The Bears sign an agreement to buy the property for $197.2 million.
Oct. 27: The Bears say they won’t pursue horse racing on the site.

2022: Planning begins

March 16: The Bears hire MANICA Architecture.
September: The team holds a public information meeting about the purchase and its plans.
Nov. 7: The village board approves a pre-development agreement with the Bears — still one of the village’s few formal agreements for the site.

2023: The Bears close — and the tax fight starts

January: Chicago releases renderings of a $2.2 billion domed Soldier Field idea. Incoming team president Kevin Warren says the focus is Arlington Park. (Sources differ on Warren’s exact start date — one lists January 12, another said he would take over around April.)
Feb. 15: The purchase closes for $197.2 million. The concept on the table is a roughly $5 billion domed stadium and entertainment district.
Spring: The Cook County assessor values the site near its purchase price, producing an initial tax bill of about $16.1 million. Churchill Downs had earlier settled with the local school districts at a $95 million value — about a $7.8 million bill.
May 30: Demolition begins inside the grandstand.
June: With the tax bill in dispute, Warren signals the team could look elsewhere. Naperville, Waukegan and Aurora pitch themselves.
Sept. 26: The grandstand is down.

2024: The lakefront detour

Jan. 30: At a Cook County Board of Review hearing, the school districts value the land at $160 million and the Bears at $60 million — a $100 million gap. The board later sets $125 million.
March 11: The Bears announce a $2 billion private commitment to a stadium in Chicago.
April: The Bears and Mayor Brandon Johnson unveil a $4.7 billion domed lakefront stadium south of Soldier Field that would need more than $2 billion in public money.
May: Gov. JB Pritzker’s office calls the lakefront plan a “non-starter.”
September: Friends of the Parks forms a coalition against a lakefront stadium.
Nov. 25 – Dec. 9: The Bears, the village and School Districts 15, 211 and 214 reach a tax agreement fixing the site’s value at about $124.7 million — roughly $3.6 million a year in taxes — for tax years 2025 through 2027.

2025: Back to Arlington Heights

March: The Bears submit traffic and financial studies for the Arlington Heights site. Developer Farpoint pitches a privately funded dome at Chicago’s Michael Reese site.
April: Jim Tinaglia, a stadium supporter, is elected mayor of Arlington Heights. The village board votes to open a formal review.
May 16: The Bears shift their focus back to Arlington Heights.
Sept. 8: In a letter to fans, Warren calls Arlington Heights the team’s “future home,” says the stadium needs no state money for construction, and asks for property tax certainty and help with infrastructure.
Late September: The village’s consultant projects about $15 million a year in new village revenue; the Bears’ consultant projects $18 million.
Fall: The Bears pause their traffic study. A stadium bill doesn’t make the fall veto session agenda.
December: The Bears say they are also exploring Northwest Indiana. Indiana Gov. Mike Braun says he’s ready to get it done.

2026: Indiana, two failed bills and a possible comeback

January: Gary, Indiana pitches three sites. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell tours sites in Arlington Heights and Indiana. A WGN/Emerson poll finds 58% of Illinoisans oppose public stadium funding.
Feb. 26: Braun signs SB 27, creating a Northwest Indiana Stadium Authority in Hammond with about $1 billion in public money. (One source dates the signing Feb. 27.)
April 22: The Illinois House passes the megaprojects bill, HB 910, 78-32. The Bears say it needs more changes.
May 21: The Bears say there is no viable site in Chicago.
June 1: The Senate passes a stadium-authority bill (HB 958 Senate Amendment 2) 37-17 in the early morning; the House adjourns without voting. Tinaglia calls it a fumble.
June 5: The Bears’ board votes to advance a stadium in Hammond, Indiana.
July 6: Arlington Heights extends the Bears’ billboard permit on the site.
Aug. 13: Warren calls Hammond the team’s “sole focus,” with the Lost Marsh and Wolf Lake Terminal sites under study. Tinaglia vows to keep fighting for Arlington Heights.
September: The village extends its lobbying contract to keep pursuing the team.
Oct. 1: Goodell meets Pritzker, legislative leaders and Bears minority owner Pat Ryan in Chicago.
Oct. 14: The Bears come up during the governor’s debate between Pritzker and Darren Bailey.
Oct. 29: Crain’s reports, citing unnamed sources, that a deal to keep the Bears in Illinois is close, most likely in Arlington Heights, with a vote possible in the veto session.

What comes next

The veto session runs November 17–19 and December 1–3. Follow the status tracker for updates; I’ll add new entries to this timeline as they happen.