Bears' Arlington Heights stadium hopes get unexpected boost

Despite the team’s public focus on building a new stadium in Hammond, Indiana, a new proposal could potentially revive Arlington Heights as a realistic option for the franchise's long-awaited stadium project.

According to FOX 32 Chicago, recent meetings involving Bears minority owner Pat Ryan, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker and state lawmakers have renewed optimism that a deal could eventually keep the Bears in Illinois.

The potential breakthrough involves a publicly owned stadium.

State Sen. Bill Cunningham sponsored legislation that passed the Illinois Senate earlier this year and would allow qualifying municipalities to establish stadium authorities. Under such an arrangement, the Bears could privately finance construction while the stadium itself would ultimately become publicly owned, potentially addressing the property-tax issue that has helped stall Arlington Heights negotiations.

The legislation didn't clear the Illinois House during the spring session, but FOX 32 reports there's optimism it could receive another look during the upcoming veto session.

The Bears own 326 acres at the former Arlington International Racecourse site, but the organization has maintained recently that its stadium-development focus is on Hammond. FOX 32, however, confirmed the Bears continued meeting with Illinois lawmakers during the summer.

Nothing is settled, and the public-ownership concept introduces its own questions involving infrastructure, taxes and costs to surrounding communities.

But Arlington Heights clearly isn't dead.

And after years of starts, stops and shifting stadium plans, the possibility of a legislative solution may have just given the Bears' Illinois option some badly needed momentum.