One of the NFL's most historic franchises looked ready to depart their home stadium and move across state lines.

However, fresh reports indicate a deal was struck at the last minute to keep them in the state, despite initial plans to take them south and across the border.

The new deal suggests that the team would finance the construction of a new stadium while taxpayers would only be paying to improve the infrastructure around the venue, an issue that has been greatly contested over the last few years between the franchise and state government.

• June 2026 — Illinois lawmakers adjourned the spring session without passing the Bears stadium bill.
• June 2026 — Bears' board voted to advance a stadium development project in Hammond, Indiana.
• August 2026 — Warren and McCaskey confirmed the team's sole focus was two Hammond sites.
• October 2026 — Goodell, Pritzker, Pat Ryan and legislative leaders met in Chicago.
• October 2026 — Lawmakers weighed a stadium authority owning a Bears-funded Arlington Heights venue.

The Chicago Bears have been at their current stadium, Soldier Field, since 1971, and it looked all but certain that they were going to make the move across state lines to Hammond, Indiana, in a controversial move that would take the Bears out of Illinois for the first time since their foundation in 1920.

However, Illinois lawmakers could vote on legislation to prevent the Bears from moving out of state as early as next month.

Why They May Be Staying Put After All

A legislative hearing scheduled for February earlier this year was cancelled, leading to fans believing the Bears would be moving to Indiana. Both majority shareholder George McCaskey and CEO Kevin Warren also revealed that their priority was moving the team to Hammond, Indiana.

But, in the final hour, after talks between Bears minority owner Pat Ryan, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, and Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, the Illinois stadium deal was revived.

With the revived plans, the most likely area for construction would be Arlington Heights after the Bears purchased the 326-acre Arlington International Racecourse property for $197.2 million back in 2023.

The original plans for Arlington Heights included a near $5 billion project for the village that included the construction of an enclosed stadium as well as an entertainment district surrounding the venue. These plans are subject to change but give fans a basic framework of what to expect from the project.

Since the surrounding area would be publicly owned, it would, therefore, not be subjected to paying property taxes like they currently do at Soldier Field in downtown Chicago.

While the news will come as a relief to Bears fans, there are still some kinks to iron out. The deal will have to be approved at the state legislative level by the 3rd of December as that is the last day of the fall veto season.

If a deal is not reached by this date, it could be all but confirmed that the over $9 billion franchise will be moving out of state for the first time in their history.