As Madden NFL 27 launches, featuring the Bears’ Caleb Williams, what’s next for Soldier Field?
The video game series has the Bears QB on the cover, a first for the team.
Caleb Williams is making history as the first Chicago Bears player on the cover of the Madden NFL video game series, with the new version launching today.
His team is potentially leaving Soldier Field for a new stadium.
What’s next for Soldier Field?
State lawmakers ended the spring session without passing legislation related to the team moving to Arlington Heights.
The Bears board then announced that the team would focus on Indiana as a new home. But Illinois lawmakers have still been discussing the subject and even the possibility of calling a special session to keep the team in the state.
The Bears have been in Chicago since 1921 and at Soldier Field since 1971. While the team plays in the nation’s third-largest media market, Soldier Field is the NFL’s second-smallest stadium. That has in part fueled the Bears’ search for a larger, modern venue capable of generating more revenue and that the team would own.
In the early 2000s, then-Mayor Richard M. Daley backed a major renovation of Soldier Field. The Bears temporarily left the stadium during construction before returning in 2003. The project modernized Soldier Field but relied on public financing.
Years later, Chicago taxpayers are still on the hook for $500 million from the renovations. That history is especially relevant as politicians again debate whether taxpayers should help fund a new Bears stadium.
The Bears lease at Soldier Field ends in 2033, but the team could pay to break it.
As kickoff to the 2026 season nears, state lawmakers and Bears ownership have some big decisions to make on the team’s future.
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