As a lifelong Washington Commanders fan now living in Illinois, I can’t help but feel deja vu watching the Chicago Bears move forward with their plan to leave Soldier Field for a new stadium.
When the Commanders left Washington, D.C., for suburban Maryland in 1997, the owners promised fans a state-of-the-art stadium, better access and huge economic benefits. The move was supposed to elevate the team for the modern era. Instead, it marked the beginning of a slow decline for both fans and the team.
Decades later, the Bears are preparing to make a similar move by moving from Soldier Field, their historic lakefront stadium in downtown Chicago, to a sprawling development 25 miles away in neighboring Arlington Heights. As the Bears frame this as a leap toward modernization, what I see is a step toward isolation.
The plan seems great. Bears ownership promises a “world-class experience” for fans and a state-of-the-art fixed-roof stadium surrounded by restaurants, entertainment and mixed-use development.
They’ve already committed over $2 billion to the project, touting 56,000 construction job-years, 9,000 permanent jobs and $60 million in annual tax revenue. In terms of accessibility, the Bears advertise an on-site Metra stop, ample parking and plenty of room for tailgating.
It sounds impressive on paper. So did Northwest Stadium.
When the Commanders left RFK Stadium nearly 30 years ago, fans were promised all the same things: better amenities, easier access and more comfort. What they got instead was a soulless concrete bowl surrounded by parking lots and gridlock.
That’s not to say the Bears’ new stadium will be as bad as Northwest Stadium. It does seem like the ownership is trying to build the best stadium they possibly can. That said, I’d argue that no matter how beautiful the new stadium may be, the prospect of physically moving the team out of Chicago is risky.
The Commanders’ Maryland stadium didn’t just fail to deliver the promised economic and fan experience benefits. It severed the team’s emotional bond with the city, effectively transitioning the Commanders from being D.C.’s team to being a team near D.C.
That’s exactly what the Bears risk by leaving their home arena.
Soldier Field is more than just a stadium. It’s one of the NFL’s oldest and most iconic venues, standing on Chicago’s lakefront for nearly a century. You can even see the skyline looming in the distance, and while it may have had an awkward renovation in the last 20 years, limited seating and cold wind chill, those downsides just add to the field’s character.
Arlington Heights, no matter how modern or comfortable, can’t replicate that.
The Bears argue that Soldier Field is too old, small and limited for what they want to build. But a franchise’s home isn’t just about square footage or luxury boxes, it’s about the place. There’s a reason why RFK is still held in higher regard than Northwest despite having objectively worse amenities — it’s all about location.
Moving 25 miles away means more than a change of address. It means abandoning what makes the Bears a “Chicago” team.
If there’s one thing I dreaded about going to Commander’s games growing up, aside from the constant losses, it was the hassle of traveling to the stadium. Public transportation access outside of D.C. is limited, making gamedays an issue for anyone who can’t drive.
That’s the worry I now have for Bears fans. Sure, the idea of a new Metra stop will make the stadium accessible in theory, but in practice, I have a hard time believing it will actually satisfy fan needs.
Thousands of fans commute to Soldier Field for Bears home games, and while it’s not a perfect system, the combination of Metra and CTA buses or trains funneled into downtown makes public transport an extremely accessible option for fans in the city. But for fans who live in the city and rely on public transit, Arlington Heights might as well be in another world.
As a lifelong Commanders fan, I can tell you firsthand: Once a team leaves its city, it’s nearly impossible to rebuild that sense of belonging. RFK wasn’t perfect — it was cramped, outdated and occasionally chaotic. But it belonged to the city, in a way Northwest never did.
Chicago doesn’t need another entertainment district. It needs the team that has represented it for more than a century to stay where it belongs. So, if the Bears want modernization, they should renovate, not relocate — because leaving means losing their soul.
George Koutrouvelis is a Medill freshman. He can be contacted at [email protected]. If you would like to respond publicly to this op-ed, send a Letter to the Editor to [email protected]. The views expressed in this piece do not necessarily reflect the views of all staff members of The Daily Northwestern.
