r/nfl

>Ravens C Danny Pinter was carted away from practice on Wednesday after suffering an apparent injury.

>Pinter has been competing with C Ethan Pocic for the starting job. Pocic notably suffered a season-ending Achilles tendon rupture last year. Hopefully, Pinter escapes with a minor injury and the competition can continue.

>Source: Mike Garafolo

Bears Stadium Saga since leaving Wrigley Field: Timeline

When the Bears moved from Decatur to Chicago in 1921, they made Wrigley Field their home and played there for the next 50 years. By 1970, however, Wrigley’s football capacity of roughly 46,000 no longer met the NFL’s new 50,000-seat minimum, forcing the Bears to find a new home and ultimately move to Soldier Field in 1971.

1970 — Evanston

George Halas's Bears arranged to use Northwestern's Dyche Stadium as they prepared to leave Wrigley Field, but the plan ran into Big Ten restrictions. It was one of the first stops in the Bears' long search for something better than their existing home.

1971 — Arlington Heights

While looking for a permanent post-Wrigley home, Halas and the Bears considered Arlington Park. They ultimately chose Soldier Field.

September 19, 1971 — Soldier Field

The Bears began playing regular-season home games at Soldier Field. What eventually became a half-century relationship started without anything resembling today's permanent-stadium certainty.

1975 — Arlington Heights

George Halas seriously pursued a stadium at Arlington Park and publicly talked about playing there by 1977. Mayor Richard J. Daley famously pushed back on the idea of a suburban team continuing to identify itself with Chicago.

1975 — Elk Grove Village

Elk Grove also entered the conversation while Halas and the Bears pressed Chicago for improvements at Soldier Field. The Bears ultimately stayed after reaching an agreement with the city.

July 16, 1980 — Notre Dame

During another Soldier Field dispute, Halas's Bears approached Notre Dame about playing their home schedule in South Bend. This went well beyond someone merely suggesting an alternative location.

July 17, 1980 — Soldier Field

One day later, the Bears reached a new 20-year Soldier Field agreement. Halas subsequently said that without the deal, the Bears would have gone to Notre Dame.

1986 — Keeneyville

Under team president Michael McCaskey, the Bears optioned roughly 580 acres at Odlum Farm for a suburban stadium and sought government participation. McCaskey called it the top site on their list before the Bears abandoned it shortly thereafter.

October 1986 — Arlington Heights

After Keeneyville fizzled, Michael McCaskey's attention returned to Arlington Heights. The Bears were again publicly searching for an alternative to Soldier Field.

1987–1989 — Arlington Heights again

Michael McCaskey continued discussing a suburban stadium and Arlington Heights repeatedly resurfaced. By this point, Arlington was already a recurring character in the Bears stadium story.

1991 — Pick a suburb

Michael McCaskey's Bears considered Arlington Heights, Bolingbrook, Hoffman Estates, Warrenville and Waukegan. West Chicago officials also pitched a large site near DuPage Airport.

May 1995 — Hoffman Estates

The Bears obtained an option on land for a potential Hoffman Estates stadium. Michael McCaskey discussed a roughly $285 million stadium at the site.

August 1995 — Aurora

The Bears also optioned land in Aurora while continuing to examine Hoffman Estates and other suburban possibilities. Naperville, Bensenville and Warrenville were also part of the broader search.

November 1995 — Gary, Indiana

Northwest Indiana interests made a serious pitch for a large stadium and entertainment complex in Gary. The Bears considered Gary while simultaneously pursuing Illinois alternatives.

August 1998 — Elk Grove again

Michael McCaskey's Bears signed a letter of intent involving roughly 69 acres for another possible Elk Grove stadium. At the same time, the Bears were again seeking a major solution at Soldier Field.

January 1999 — Never mind

The Bears abandoned the Elk Grove effort and turned back toward Chicago. Another suburban stadium chapter ended without a stadium.

2001–2003 — Soldier Field again

Chicago moved ahead with the roughly $600 million reconstruction of Soldier Field, supported substantially through public financing. The Bears returned to the radically reconstructed stadium in 2003.

June 17, 2021 — Arlington Heights

Under chairman George McCaskey and president Ted Phillips, the Bears announced they had submitted a bid for Arlington International Racecourse. Phillips said the organization had an obligation to explore every possible option.

September 29, 2021 — Arlington gets serious

The Bears signed a purchase agreement for the 326-acre Arlington Park property for $197.2 million. Mayor Lori Lightfoot responded that Chicago would continue working to keep the Bears.

July 25, 2022 — Lightfoot fights back

Mayor Lori Lightfoot held a public presentation unveiling three Soldier Field renovation alternatives, including a dome concept costing as much as roughly $2.2 billion. The Bears' position remained that Arlington Park was the only new-stadium project they were pursuing.

September 8, 2022 — Arlington presentation

The Bears held a major community presentation at Hersey High School and showed conceptual plans for an enclosed stadium and enormous mixed-use district at Arlington Park. Reporting at the time noted that the Bears weren't weighing Soldier Field or other alternatives.

February 15, 2023 — They buy Arlington

The Bears closed on 326 acres for $197.2 million. Even then, their announcement carefully said buying the land did not guarantee a stadium would actually be built there.

2023 — Arlington hits trouble

Property-tax disagreements and questions over public assistance complicated the Arlington plan. Under new president Kevin Warren, the Bears began reconsidering Chicago alternatives rather than treating Arlington as inevitable.

April 24, 2024 — Big Chicago press conference

Kevin Warren, George McCaskey and Mayor Brandon Johnson held a major Soldier Field press conference unveiling a new fixed-roof lakefront stadium immediately south of the existing stadium. After years of Arlington messaging, Chicago was suddenly the centerpiece again.

2024 — Chicago becomes the pitch

Warren repeatedly promoted the lakefront project in terms of what it could mean for Chicago, Chicagoland and Illinois. The Bears were now publicly selling a Chicago stadium after spending years developing Arlington.

March 14, 2025 — Michael Reese proposal

Developers unveiled a detailed 75,000-seat enclosed stadium proposal at the former Michael Reese Hospital site, with extensive surrounding development. The Bears had previously raised engineering and space objections to Michael Reese and did not embrace the new proposal.

May 16, 2025 — Back to Arlington

After the extended lakefront push, the Bears announced “significant progress” with Arlington Heights and shifted their focus back toward their 326-acre property. AP described it plainly as a shift back to the suburbs from the lakefront.

September 8, 2025 — “Our future home”

On the day of the Bears' season opener, Kevin Warren issued an open letter calling the proposed Arlington Heights stadium “our future home.” He said Arlington was the only Cook County location meeting their requirements and that “this is the year to finalize our stadium plans.”

Fall 2025 — Illinois fight continues

The Bears pushed Springfield for property-tax certainty and public participation in infrastructure while saying the stadium itself would require zero state construction money. Arlington remained their publicly declared destination.

December 17, 2025 — 100 days later

Exactly 100 days after calling Arlington Heights their future home, Warren announced that the Bears would expand their search into Northwest Indiana. Warren expressly wrote: “This is not about leverage.”

December 2025 — During a playoff run

The timing made the stadium announcement especially striking: Warren's own letter noted the Bears had won five of six home games and were trying to build a championship organization. Instead of the public conversation being solely about the team's resurgence, another stadium-location fight was suddenly front and center.

Early 2026 — Indiana starts courting

Northwest Indiana communities began offering possibilities as Indiana lawmakers worked on a mechanism capable of supporting a Bears stadium. The Bears' vague “Northwest Indiana” alternative began turning into actual sites and legislation.

February 2026 — Portage

Portage promoted the roughly 300-acre “Halas Harbor” concept along Lake Michigan. For a brief period, it became one of the Indiana possibilities.

February 2026 — Hammond emerges

Hammond quickly became the Indiana location receiving the Bears' serious attention. The stadium discussion was now increasingly Arlington Heights versus Hammond, rather than Illinois versus some hypothetical Indiana site.

March 19, 2026 — Another Soldier Field idea

Architect Edward Peck unveiled a substantial unsolicited proposal to keep the Bears at Soldier Field, including a translucent roof, expanded seating and a surrounding entertainment district. The proposal was independent of the Bears, city and Park District and was designed specifically to challenge the assumption that Soldier Field could not be made viable.

Spring 2026 — Arlington or Hammond

The Bears increasingly characterized Arlington Heights and Hammond as the two viable alternatives. The city-of-Chicago options that had dominated the 2024 presentation were effectively gone.

May 31–June 1, 2026 — Springfield stalls

Illinois senators acted on Bears-related stadium legislation, but the General Assembly adjourned without delivering the complete package the Bears wanted. The team still publicly identified both Arlington Heights and Hammond as possibilities.

June 5, 2026 — The board chooses Hammond

The Bears' board of directors voted to advance the Hammond stadium project. This was significant because the board had not taken a comparable location vote during the recent Arlington/Chicago/Hammond swings.

June 5, 2026 — Except Illinois isn't dead

Even after that board vote, Illinois legislators said their conversations with Kevin Warren did not suggest Illinois was off the table. Rep. Kam Buckner and Sen. Bill Cunningham both indicated Warren expected discussions to continue.

June–July 2026 — Indiana taxpayers and local officials start pushing back: As the Bears advance plans for Hammond, the cost to Northwest Indiana residents becomes much clearer. Indiana’s package allows for as much as $1 billion in public stadium funding and includes a new 1% food-and-beverage tax in both Lake and Porter counties, doubling Lake County’s hotel tax from 5% to 10%, and a 12% tax on stadium admissions. Porter County officials object to taxing their residents to help finance a stadium that wouldn’t even be located in their county, and the opposition becomes significant enough that Gov. Mike Braun publicly addresses it. The financing plan could also draw from a $700 million Indiana Toll Road payment tied to an agreement allowing toll increases. So even as the Bears point to Indiana as the alternative to Illinois, taxpayers and elected officials there are already pushing back on the cost of subsidizing the project.

August 13, 2026 — Another press conference

Kevin Warren and George McCaskey held a Halas Hall press conference and Warren declared: “Our sole focus at this point in time” is a stadium and mixed-use development in Hammond.

August 13, 2026 — Lost Marsh

Warren announced that the Bears had completed due diligence on Hammond's Lost Marsh site and deemed it viable. For once, the Indiana discussion had progressed to a specific site that the Bears said had passed their review.

August 13, 2026 — Wolf Lake Terminal

At the same press conference, Warren revealed that the Bears were evaluating a second Hammond location, Wolf Lake Terminal, including environmental, geographical and topographical studies. He even raised the possibility of using the two sites together.

August 13, 2026 — Still “Chicago Bears”

George McCaskey said the team's name would remain the Chicago Bears regardless of whether the eventual stadium was in Arlington Heights or Hammond. That reference to Arlington was notable on the same day Warren was calling Hammond the “sole focus.”

August 13, 2026 — Illinois conversations continue

Warren acknowledged there had still been occasional meetings with Illinois, even while emphasizing Hammond. Illinois officials likewise said communication with the organization had not stopped.

August 13, 2026 — Meanwhile, Roger Goodell

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell reportedly met privately with a small group of Illinois lawmakers that same day about the Bears stadium situation. The reporting does not establish that Goodell was formally negotiating a keep-the-Bears-in-Illinois deal, so I would not state that as fact, but his involvement demonstrates that Illinois remained part of the conversation.

August 14, 2026 — Pritzker isn't conceding

Gov. JB Pritzker said he believes the Bears would like to stay in Illinois, while acknowledging that the Bears had not presented lawmakers with a final written proposal addressing what they needed. Warren responded that there was indeed no written Illinois offer and reiterated that the current focus was Hammond.

August 2026 — And Illinois still isn't dead

August 13, 2026: Hammond is now the “sole focus.”

Also that day: Roger Goodell reportedly meets with Illinois lawmakers, while George McCaskey himself still describes the team's potential future as being in “Arlington Heights or Hammond.”

The common denominator throughout this entire timeline is Bears ownership. When they don’t get what they want, they go public, blame the city, the state, the governor or politics, and threaten to leave Chicago. But look at the timeline: the location changes, the proposal changes, the demands change and the goalposts keep moving.

And at the heart of the pushback is a pretty reasonable question: why should Illinois taxpayers pay to help a franchise worth more than $10 billion move from a publicly owned stadium on Chicago’s lakefront to a privately owned, $5 billion mega mixed-use complex in the same state and the same county, where the Bears would make hundreds of millions of dollars a year? THey want insane tax breaks including reduced property taxes, no taxes on the materials used to build it and close to a billion dollars in infrastructure. All to stay in the same county!

Bears fans who have lived through this for decades are tired of it, and so are Illinois lawmakers. When the same problems follow you through every administration, every location and every proposal, at some point the problem isn’t everyone else. It’s the team’s ownership.