After nearly a year of back and forths between the team, the village of Arlington Heights, and the local school districts, a tentative agreement on property taxes for a potential new Chicago Bears stadium has been reached.

In a statement from the team on this new development, the Bears said:

“The Chicago Bears remain focused on investing over $2 billion to build a publicly owned enclosed stadium on Chicago’s lakefront while reevaluating the feasibility of a development in Bronzeville. That being said, we remain significant landowners in Arlington Heights and establishing a framework for potential future development planning, financing and property tax certainty has been a priority since the land was purchased. We continue to have productive conversations with the village and school districts and are aligned on a framework should we choose to explore a potential development.”

So, while the team has purchased land and is interested in bringing the team to Arlington Heights, their primary focus has been to build a publicly owned stadium with a roof on Chicago's lakefront. However, with that seeming to be a challenge for the Bears, their options are open, with the suburbs being their fall-back.

Both options bring their list of pros and cons.

If the Bears were to stay in Chicago, they remain in the most populous city in Illinois and one of the nation's major cities. However, moving them to Arlington Heights also has its pros.

The Arlington Heights appeal for Bears

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In this drone image, a general view of Soldier Field with the Chicago skyline before a game between the Chicago Bears and the Houston Texans the at Soldier Field, as Arlington Heights deal looms.
Quinn Harris-Imagn Images

Moving the Bears to the suburbs would make for easy travel, with the Metra station so close to the team-owned land. On top of being easy to travel to, unlike their current stadium in Chicago, the local economy of Arlington Heights would see a massive influx. For a village on the rise, that's a major selling point for Arlington Heights.

With a potential suburban move, however, the team could lose out on the fans who will chain themselves to the idea that this team is the Chicago Bears, not the Arlington Heights Bears.

And while that seems like a strong argument, many teams in the NFL don't even reside in the city of their team name.

The Dallas Cowboys aren't located in Dallas, the New York Giants and Jets aren't even in New York, the Buffalo Bills aren't in Buffalo, and the list goes on. So, while the Bears could move out of Chicago, IL, there won't be a massive re-branding to one of the largest brands in the NFL.

The Arlington Heights Bears might not even be a possibility, as the team appears to favor staying in the Windy City of Chicago.