Bears president Kevin Warren: Goal is to be 'moving dirt' for new stadium in 2025, ideally in city's downtown

The Chicago Bears played their first game of the 2024 preseason Thursday. And they hope to be playing all their home games in a brand-new stadium within the next four years, president Kevin Warren confirmed to ESPN during a Thursday night interview, saying the goal is to be "moving dirt" in construction in 2025.

"It's exactly where I thought we would be at this point in time," Warren said when asked about the status of future stadium plans. "These are massive projects. ... The goal is still to be in the ground, moving dirt in 2025, [and] hopefully open in 2028, and have a great new home for the Chicago Bears."

Warren's remarks come days after Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker said it would be " near impossible " to reach a deal on a new stadium project before the end of the year. He added that "there isn't a proposal on the table right now that would be acceptable to anyone that I know in the legislature."

Warren had revealed earlier this offseason that the Bears are aiming to construct a publicly owned lakefront stadium inside the city of Chicago, promising to invest more than $2 billion of private money into the project. The proposed domed venue would ultimately land south of the team's current Soldier Field site, per ESPN , despite the team in 2021 purchasing property in nearby Arlington Heights.

"The focus is the ... campus downtown," Warren clarified Thursday. "I still think that's the most beautiful piece of property in the country, where lake meets architecture downtown ... [But] we are the largest landowner in Arlington Heights -- we own 326 acres -- so that's still an opportunity."