The Chicago Bears moved one step closer to building a new stadium in the Chicago suburbs and leaving Soldier Field behind. However, a new Bears stadium in Arlington Heights isn’t a done deal just yet.

On Friday, the Bears started external demolition at Arlington Park, a former horse-racing track in Arlington Heights, Illinois, where the team has been planning to build a new stadium. This represents the next phase of development after internal demolition began in late May.

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The team closed on a deal to buy this 326-acre property for $197.2 million dollars in February 2023. However, despite moving one step closer to building an Arlington Park stadium, the team still says that the location isn’t their “singular focus” anymore after a property tax dispute with the municipality threw the project into question.

The NFL team, which has called Soldier Field home since 1921 (except for in 2002 when the team played in Champaign, Illinois during renovations), is discussing options in Waukegan, Illinois — near the team’s headquarters in Lake Forest — and Naperville, Illinois.

Also, Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson is still in discussions with the Bears to try and entice the franchise into staying in the City of Chicago.

No matter what the final outcome, it seems as though the Bears leaving Soldier Field in the next few years is now a certainty.

The longtime NFL venue is the oldest and smallest stadium in the league, and it’s owned by the Chicago Park District, not the team. All these are reasons why the franchise is looking to relocate to another Chicagoland home.