The mayor of a Chicago suburb is continuing to make noise about the Bears moving to his city.
Arlington Heights Mayor Tom Hayes said a new stadium for the Bears could be built on the current site of the Arlington Park race track, located about 30 miles from Soldier Field. Arlington Park is for sale and is expected to be demolished and redeveloped by its next owner.
“It’s still on the table, to my understanding, but it’s a complete, definite ‘maybe,’” Hayes said of the Bears moving, via the Daily Herald. “I’m not in a position where I could say it’s a definite ‘go’ or definite ‘no go.’”
The Bears have stayed mum about the possibility as speculation has raged in the Chicago area. When teams don’t want to talk about their stadium plans, that often means they want to use another potential venue as leverage to get a better deal at their current venue.
Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot has acknowledged that the Bears have valid concerns about Soldier Field, but the Bears’ lease with the city to play at Soldier Field runs through 2033 and Lightfoot said she is confident the Bears won’t move, and that the NFL wouldn’t let them if they tried.