ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill. () — Any relocation of a future Chicago Bears stadium would have to clear a major NFL hurdle: approval from 75% of the league’s team owners. That requirement gives Commissioner Roger Goodell a meaningful role in how the stadium debate unfolds, and his latest remarks are raising fresh questions because they do not fully line up with how Bears officials have recently described the team’s direction.
Just two weeks earlier, Bears Chairman George McCaskey said Hammond was the franchise’s only current focus for a new stadium site, while offering no clear answer on where Arlington Heights fits into the team’s long-term stadium plans.
On Aug. 13, when McCaskey was asked whether he was optimistic that Arlington Heights could ultimately become home to a new Chicago Bears stadium, he pointed back to a familiar message from the NFL commissioner.
“Well, somebody mentioned the commissioner. He has said to us many times in league meetings hope is not a strategy,” McCaskey said.
But in comments made two weeks later, Goodell suggested the door has not closed on Arlington Heights, saying the Illinois suburb remains part of the conversation along with a potential Indiana option.
“We want to make sure that Arlington Heights and Illinois have an opportunity as well as Indiana to put their best foot forward,” Goodell said.
Goodell’s statement came as Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker acknowledged that he had recently been in direct contact with the commissioner about the Bears stadium situation.
“Yes, I have spoken with Commissioner Goodell,” Pritzker said. “I have not had the sense that Commissioner Goodell has a dog in the hunt, as they say, and that he’s chosen some, one state or another or a place for the Bears.”
Others interpreted Goodell’s comments as a challenge to the message the Bears have been conveying about their stadium search.
“Roger Goodell’s comments make clear that the NFL knows that the most valuable location is in Arlington Heights,” said Ernie Rose of Touchdown Arlington.
Rick Telander, a longtime Chicago sports columnist and author, said the commissioner’s remarks undercut the Bears recent messaging.
“If you’re the Bears … you see this as being a bit of an embarrassment, another little mini slap in the face of what we’re trying to do, which at this point, I’m not sure anybody really knows,” Telander said.
Telander also emphasized Goodell’s influence within the league.
“Roger Goodell is the commissioner. If you had a king of the NFL, he would be the guy,” Telander said. “If Goodell is saying, hey listen, don’t cross that border. If that’s what he really means, don’t move to Indiana, the Bears have to listen.”
The Bears declined to comment on Goodell’s statement.
