Will they leave Soldier Field for Arlington Heights?

The Chicago Bears signed a purchase agreement for Arlington International Racecourse in September 2021, a move that takes the team a step closer toward securing property for a new stadium and leaving their longtime home at Soldier Field.

Soldier Field, which is owned by the Chicago Park District, holds 61,500 fans, the smallest capacity in the NFL. The Bears also would be able to develop the 326-acre property around the stadium with shopping, dining and entertainment.

Here’s what to know about the possible move from Soldier Field, with reaction from City Hall to Arlington Heights.

Landmark Development unveiled a video tour of a “reimagined” Soldier Field, including expanded seating, premium club lounges, food halls and an adjacent concert venue, topped by a dome to attract fair-weather football fans and year-round visitors.

“This is a proposal that we think sets a compelling case for a team like the Bears to want to stay at Soldier Field,” said Bob Dunn, president of Landmark Development.

The city broadly reiterated its support for Dunn’s latest vision for Soldier Field, and the mission to keep the Bears.

“Mayor Lightfoot has been vocal about the need to reimagine the experience at Soldier Field,” Cesar Rodriguez, spokesman for the mayor’s office, said in a statement. “The City still believes that Soldier Field is the best home for the Chicago Bears and continues to engage with community partners and members of the Museum Campus Working Group to explore the future of the stadium.”

Bears officials have said they expect to decide whether to buy the former Arlington International Racecourse property in the first quarter of 2023. The Bears also have said they can’t build the project without government help.

With the funding decision unlikely to come in the next couple of months, the team probably first will have to decide whether to buy the 326-acre site, then later make the call on whether to develop it. Read more here.

More headlines out of Arlington Heights:

While the Bears have called Soldier Field home since 1971, the team has discussed or proposed playing its games elsewhere throughout much of the last 50 years.

Wrigley Field served as the original home venue for the team when it moved to Chicago in 1921 and remained there through 1970. The team won nearly 70% of its home games during that span.

But the Bears were forced to find a new home after the American Football League merged with the National Football League and required stadiums to seat at least 50,000 fans. The team played its last game at Wrigley Field on Dec. 13, 1970, beating the Packers 35-17. Read more here.

Bears Chairman George McCaskey and president/CEO Ted Phillips sat down with the Tribune and a reporter from the Chicago Sun-Times. Here are some of their answers on how the Arlington project will be handled as Phillips prepares to depart, how Phillips reflects on his tenure and much more. Read it here.

If the Bears dare to dream big about a new stadium in Arlington Heights, they can find inspiration in SoFi Stadium, the new star attraction of the NFL.

The league’s largest and most expensive arena and the site of the Super Bowl, SoFi, just outside Los Angeles, is overwhelming fans with its sweeping curves and epic scale. The stadium and its development highlight certain parallels to the Bears’ proposal to buy and redevelop Arlington International Racecourse. Both reflect desires to leave century-old stadiums and home cities for vast sites that allow for planned enclaves of surrounding restaurants, hotels, offices, stores and homes. Read more here.

Fans were exponentially more understanding than Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot and some even expressed a draft day-like optimism that better days are ahead. They dreamed openly of shorter concessions, easier parking, better tailgating opportunities and a domed stadium that protected them from biting winter winds.

“I’ve been to multiple stadiums in the NFL and Soldier Field does not compete with any of them,” Bears season ticket holder Neal Shah of Wheaton said. “On game days, the television crews show an aerial view of the stadium, which is beautiful, but the logistics are terrible.” Read more here.