Warren Introduced As Bears President With Focus On Future, Winning

LAKE FOREST, IL — New Chicago Bears President Kevin Warren will have plenty on his plate when he officially begins work overseeing the business of one of the National Football League’s charter franchises, but the future of where the Bears call home still includes plenty of question marks.

Warren, who served as the Big Ten Conference’s commissioner since 2019, was formally introduced as the Bears' new President and Chief Operating Officer on Tuesday. Warren replaces Ted Phillips, who spent nearly four decades in the position that Warren now takes over and who oversaw the beginning stages of a possible Bears move to Arlington Heights. Warren will take over the new role in April with plenty to focus on when he shifts his attention from the Big Ten to overseeing the Bears' business operations.

Phillips said that while the Bears cast a wide net for his replacement, he cited Warren’s experience working in the NFL and more specifically, on a project to build the Minnesota Vikings a new stadium in Minneapolis as difference-makers in Warren rising to the top of the list. Yet, when a deal to officially close on the 326-acre property of the former Arlington Park Racecourse gets done remains uncertain.

Phillips told reporters on Tuesday that the team is still hoping to close on a $197.4 million purchase agreement in the first quarter of this year. However, when asked about developing the property that will include much more than a new enclosed stadium, Phillips said that the team has not yet started speaking with developers about what a new Bears stadium will look like.

“If we do (close), that doesn’t mean we’ll develop (the property) — there’s a lot of work to be done and we need to get property tax certainty and we need to get infrastructure funding taken care of,” Phillips said on Tuesday after Warren’s introductory press conference at Halas Hall. “Those are heavy lifts.”

As was the case when Phillips and Bears chairman George McCaskey met with Arlington Heights residents back in the fall, Phillips continually used the word “if” in describing the process of moving forward for a new home. The Bears still have 11 years remaining on their existing lease at Soldier Field, where Chicago city officials are hoping the team remains.

McCaskey said Tuesday that the team is still attempting to determine whether they can close on the Arlington Park property in the first quarter of 2023, but said the site remains the franchise's singular focus. McCaskey said that finding a replacement for Phillips did not specifically include focusing on someone with prior stadium experience. But McCaskey said stadium planning is an "asset" Warren brings to the table and that team officials look forward to his assessment of the Arlington Park property.

McCaskey said the team will take a methodical approach to the development process and cited the size of the property as to the length of time the closing process has taken.

Phillips called the Soldier Field site “picturesque” on Tuesday and said the Bears will remain involved in the city if and when the team leaves for the suburbs. However, he cited the lack of fan amenities at the current Bears’ home and said the Lakefront location of the stadium presents challenges in making a state-of-the-art venue like the one the Bears are hoping to build in Arlington Heights.

Asked what his message to Bears fans would be who are upset about the idea of the Bears leaving Chicago, McCaskey said, "We plan on being here for another 103 years."

Added Phillips: "We're still going to be the Chicago Bears."

A developer working with Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot recently unveiled a new video offering a virtual tour of what a reimagined Soldier Field could look like if the Bears chose to give their current football home a facelift. Developers have put a $2.2 billion price tag on a new stadium while the Bears have said that they plan to spend $5 billion in developing the 326-acre site in Arlington Heights that Phillips referred to as a “365-day-a-year entertainment district.”

Warren, for his part, said that he will rely on his experience of overseeing a new Vikings stadium which was among his main achievements while working in Minneapolis. Warren has 21 years of NFL experience, which Bears officials are counting on to get a team that finished 3-14 this season back on track.

Like McCaskey and Phillips before him, Warren said on Tuesday that Arlington Heights remains the singular focus of the Bears moving forward as it relates to a future home. Warren said that he doesn’t want to build a team that finds success that “lasts a year and then goes away” but instead wants to build sustainability.

Both McCaskey and Phillips said Tuesday that the Bears’ lack of success has been frustrating for everyone involved, which puts changing the culture part of the to-do list for the team’s new President and CEO.

He said part of building for the future includes coming up with a “very, very creative solution” to the team’s stadium needs and creating a year-round entertainment district.

“That’s the sole focus right now, Warren said on Tuesday. “One hundred percent.”

Warren declined to put a timeline on finalizing what a stadium venue could look like in the suburbs but said he will fall back on his experience building a new venue with the Vikings. But in this new stadium development opportunity, Warren stressed the importance of finding the "why" in the equation and making sure the why makes sense for the greatest number of people involved in the final product.

“When you build a stadium, every single thing matters,” Warren said on Tuesday. “Every measure, every line item ...but what I learned in Minnesota is that you have to create a compelling story of why it makes sense. …The time is right…I’m confident with the intellectual talent in this state and in this city and all of the people who love the Chicago Bears, we’ll be able to come together — it’s time.”