At Lake Forest event, stadium property taxes and World Cup on Bears president’s mind

Chicago Bears President/CEO Kevin Warren said the NFL club is performing due diligence for a potential stadium in Northwest Indiana, but at an event in Lake Forest Thursday night, he didn’t close the door on Arlington Heights either.

The Bears president hasn’t spoken publicly since he and members of the organization’s board of directors voted June 4 to advance a stadium development project in Hammond, Indiana, days after the Illinois legislature punted on legislation for a stadium in Arlington Heights.

Warren, a Lake Forest resident who lives near the team’s Halas Hall practice facility, was on stage at the city’s Gorton Center for a wide-ranging, hourlong interview with a local author when he was asked what factors would drive his decision of whether the team ends up in Arlington Heights or Hammond.

“I think we’ve been very clear, I mean, always, you have to have property tax certainty. The numbers are too big if you don’t have it, and it’s too uncertain,” Warren told interviewer David Sweet. “You have to have a commitment from an infrastructure dollar standpoint. You have to have a really good partner, because regardless of where you build, there are always going to be complications. Things happen.”

Warren’s ask for a property tax break is well-established, since the team’s $197.2 million purchase of the 326-acre Arlington Park property in 2023. So, too, has been his pitch for a domed stadium and the purported economic benefits of attracting big ticket events like a Super Bowl, Final Four and concerts.

But on Thursday night, at an event called “Talking Football with Kevin Warren,” the Bears executive had a different kind of football on his mind.

“Back to the World Cup,” he continued in response to Sweet’s stadium question. “When you think about how prominent Chicago and the Chicagoland area is, I was looking at all these matches. And they were in Seattle and Texas and Miami and Boston and New York. To think that we didn’t have the World Cup here in Chicago is disappointing.”

“We miss out on a lot of events that we should have, especially here in the Chicagoland area, which is critically important,” he added. “But not having a fixed roof building has created an atmosphere.”

Warren didn’t offer many specifics about the team’s ongoing due diligence process in Indiana, besides noting geotechnical studies are underway. Nor did he mention the behind-the-scenes political process in Illinois in the ensuing weeks since the General Assembly adjourned its spring session June 1.

Gov. JB Pritzker said in late June that the Bears were looking to put together parts of separate bills that passed the state House and Senate in hopes of arriving at common legislation for a new stadium in Illinois that could pass both chambers. Bears brass asked the governor’s office and legislators for advice about the legislative drafting process, Pritzker said.

Last week, House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch told reporters in Springfield that “conversations are happening,” but were far from yielding a specific piece of legislation. Welch is reluctant to call legislators back for a special session if there isn’t sufficient support for a bill.

“I would want it to be a productive special session, and we’re not there yet,” Welch said July 8.

Darren Bailey, Pritzker’s GOP opponent in the Nov. 3 gubernatorial election, was among the 125 or so attendees. In an interview after the event, Bailey, a former state senator, criticized how legislation was crafted in the waning days and hours of session without input from the Bears.

But the conservative Republican from downstate Xenia has also opposed the team’s original ask for megaproject legislation that would provide a long-term property tax break in Arlington Heights.

“I’m proud of the Chicago Bears leadership, Mr. Warren. I was very impressed with his resume, with his leadership drive, with his vision,” Bailey said. “So I think the Bears certainly can represent the future of Illinois good, and I was glad to hear that.”

“I was hoping to hear a little bit more about, you know, are they going to be here? Are they going to Indiana? But I think that we heard reasons tonight as to why we need to try to keep them here if we can.”

Earlier on stage, Warren expressed excitement for other local stadiums under development, including Northwestern University’s new Ryan Field set to open this fall, and the Chicago Fire’s planned McDonald’s Park at the 78 redevelopment in the South Loop.

As for a Bears stadium naming rights deal, Warren said the team has already looked at Fortune 500 companies and narrowed the list to 50 “that fit the ilk of the Chicago Bears.”

The stadium project overall “has been a challenge,” Warren said.

“They all are a challenge,” he said. “But I think what we have to is continually just stay positive.”