Could the Bears Now Head to Iowa in 2026?
The Chicago Bears have been discussing their new stadium for the last five years. Team President Kevin Warren has been running these discussions and taking the lead in finding the Bears’ new location. The talks have failed to find any solution, as the Bears went from staying in Chicago to possibly moving to Arlington Heights or Indiana. The team bought property in Arlington Heights four years ago, but has still not decided what will be done with it. The fans have shown their frustration, as nearly all of them support the franchise staying in the state of Illinois, with a lot agreeing they should stay in the city of Chicago. Unfortunately for Bears fans, there’s a new state fighting to bring the organization to their home.
Iowa has joined the fight to bring the Bears away from Chicago. This is not the third state the Bears could move to, leaving Kevin Warren with plenty of decisions to make. The Iowa Senate subcommittee is trying to pass a bill that would change Iowa’s major economic growth attraction program. This would include incentivizing the building of a professional sports stadium by an NFL franchise in the state. Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds has voiced her opinion about bringing the Bears to Iowa, as she’s very open to the idea. Iowa is now joining Indiana as another state that has shown they are willing to work with the Bears better than the state of Illinois has.
Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker has continued to have his disagreements with the Bears, making Kevin Warren have no choice but to entertain the option of leaving Illinois. The increased pressure, however, on the state of Illinois to get a deal done, is heating up. Bears fans want their team to stay where they’ve been for over 100 years, as the history of the team will always belong to Chicago. Despite the obvious choice of staying in Illinois, they have been the hardest state to work with. Northwest Indiana’s three largest cities have all expressed interest in the Bears. Now that Iowa has joined the fold, the odds of the Bears leaving for another state have just increased even more.
