NFL wants to meet with Bears after the draft for an update on their stadium project

CHICAGO — The Chicago Bears are busy preparing for next week’s NFL draft — and after that, the league wants to learn more about the team’s stadium plans.

The NFL’s stadium committee has called for a meeting during the week of April 27, according to a league source, to get an update from the Bears on the status of the team’s bid for a new home. The location of that project is currently between Arlington Heights, where the team owns land, and a site in Hammond, Ind.

The meeting will be held virtually, the source said, with the committee aiming to get the latest information from team officials. Bears Chairman George McCaskey is a member of the committee, which is chaired by Minnesota Vikings owner Mark Wilf and also includes owners Art Rooney II (Pittsburgh Steelers), Jed York (San Francisco 49ers), Amy Adams Strunk (Tennessee Titans), Stephen Davis (Dallas Cowboys) and high-ranking executives Sashi Brown (Baltimore Ravens) and Kevin Demoff (Los Angeles Rams).

The committee’s role is ultimately to make recommendations to Commissioner Roger Goodell and the league as a whole when it comes to stadium construction, financing and renovations.

Bears President/CEO Kevin Warren expressed optimism at the recent annual league meeting in Phoenix that the Bears would have a decision on a site by late spring or early summer. It has been a long and winding process for the organization since it agreed to purchase the Arlington Heights land from Churchill Downs Inc. in September 2021, but Warren believes the team can have a new domed stadium completed and ready for the 2030 season.

In December, the Bears revealed they were exploring a possible relocation to northwest Indiana, a possibility lawmakers in that state have been eager to bring to fruition. The Bears are waiting to see if Illinois lawmakers in Springfield can resolve a megaprojects bill that would provide them with tax certainty they say is mandatory for a move to Arlington Heights.

Shortly after the April 23-25 draft, the team will need to share the latest developments with the stadium committee, a natural step in the process. Any move — whether to Arlington Heights or Hammond — would have to be approved by the league before it could be put into motion.

Whether the Bears can get enough answers and make a decision in time for a potential vote at the spring owners meeting May 19-20 in Orlando, Fla., remains to be seen. That might be an ambitious timeline, given Warren’s remarks about a final choice coming in late spring or early summer.

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