By Drew Schott
For more than a century, the Chicago Bears have played their home games in the Windy City. Soldier Field in downtown Chicago has hosted the Bears since 1971, following the NFL franchise’s stint at Wrigley Field from 1921-1970.
That is set to change, since the Bears are choosing between stadium sites in Arlington Heights, Illinois and Hammond, Indiana. The Bears’ likelihood of building a new venue across state lines increased on June 5, as Chairman George McCaskey and President and Chief Executive Officer Kevin Warren announced that the team’s Board of Directors voted to advance its Hammond stadium development project.
Just over three weeks earlier, McCaskey described choosing the new stadium location as “probably the biggest decision for the Bears in decades.”
“There’s a lot to work through, a lot of logistics, a lot of financial analysis, a lot of looking at what is legislatively viable, financially viable and what’s the best decision for our fans for… decades to come,” McCaskey said.
McCaskey’s comments came during a panel entitled, “Leadership Series: Inside the Chicago Owners’ Box,” at the Sports Lawyers Association Annual Conference in Chicago on May 13. The panel – sponsored by law firm Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP – also included Michael Alter, Laura Ricketts and Laura Warren. Alter is the Principal Owner of the Chicago Sky, while Ricketts serves as the Executive Chairperson and Controlling Owner of Chicago Stars FC and a member of the Board of Directors of the Chicago Cubs. Meanwhile, Warren works as Chicago Fire FC’s Chief Legal and Administrative Officer.
Chicago is home to franchises in the National Football League, the National Basketball Association, the National Hockey League, Major League Baseball, Major League Soccer, the Women’s National Basketball Association and the National Women’s Soccer League among other professional leagues. The Sky, founded in 2005, are currently one of Chicago’s more recently established sports teams and Alter is hoping the Sky – who won the 2021 WNBA Finals – can eventually create a lasting impact among the city’s citizens.
“I look at two organizations, the Bears and the Cubs… and to me, that’s the legacy I would love to leave behind, something that has sustainability for a long time and entrenched generations and generations of people growing up being fans… All that intergenerational connection and how it integrates itself into everyday life with everybody in the city, that to me is the greatest legacy you can have,” said Alter, also the President of the Alter Group, a national corporate real estate development firm.
Following the conclusion of the WNBA’s successful negotiation of a new collective bargaining agreement, Alter is paying close attention to the Sky’s on-court performance following “a lot of new changes” ahead of the 2026 season and its second year under head coach Tyler Marsh. Meanwhile, Ricketts discussed the Stars’ search for a permanent stadium solution.
Chicago’s NWSL club, founded in 2006, has a lease to play its entire 2026 campaign at Northwestern Medicine Field at Martin Stadium in Evanston, which is on the campus of Northwestern University. The team considered home games at Northwestern’s Ryan Field in 2027, but eventually chose not to pursue a unique use permit to play at the venue once it opens in October. Ricketts called the matter “what keeps me up at night.”
“We’ve also been in that mix to try to figure out how we can do some kind of a public-private partnership and all those conversations that are happening, whether it’s this session or going forward, they’re so vital,” said Ricketts, also the Board Chair of Cubs Charities. “They’re really essential to us. As (Illinois) Governor (JB) Pritzker said last year or in a previous session, ‘What about women’s sports?’ We need infrastructure as well… Our municipalities, our states, we need to be making that policy decision to also fund women’s professional sports or support women’s professional sports in these public-private partnerships for infrastructure. Michael (Alter)’s doing it with his performance center… Like I said, it’s essential. We need a place to play now.
“Northwestern is very generous. We’re playing at Martin Stadium at Northwestern and they’ve been a great partner. But, it’s a temporary field. It’s not our field and they have a lot of programming there. If we want to activate corporate partnerships, we have to bring everything in and take everything down. Then, there are limits even to that. So, it’s really crucial that if you want to support women’s professional sports, you really need to invest as a matter of public policy.”
Ricketts, whose investor group acquired ownership of the Stars in 2023, credited individuals in the Illinois legislature and Pritzker’s office who are willing to support this aim. Yet, she shared that “there’s a lot more work to be done to get there.” Also, an investor in the Sky, Ricketts discussed the importance of increasing equity and empowerment across women’s professional sports franchises and leagues.
“In 2009, when our family took over stewardship of the Cubs, it was changing slowly,” Ricketts said. “But there are a lot more women now that are in professional sports, which is a privilege to see. Beyond professional sports, we are seeing more girls and women seeing themselves in places that they might not have otherwise unless they had watched professional sports.”
Ricketts shared that stewardship is a crucial influence in her ownership of multiple Chicago professional sports franchises, a sentiment also expressed by McCaskey. When reflecting on his aspirations for the Bears, McCaskey cited two goals from Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee George Halas, his grandfather and the Bears’ founder, as well as its former Chairman and head coach: excellence on the field and making a difference in the community.
To McCaskey, these aims are “equally important.” He views his current role with Chicago’s NFL franchise as not only a “tremendous responsibility,” but also an opportunity to create positive change.
“We’re very fortunate to be in this position,” McCaskey said. “… We should approach this privileged position with gratitude and understand it’s a big responsibility to be the owner of a professional sports team, especially in the city of Chicago, which is so passionate about its sports teams. Bears fans, they care so much about their team.”
Events, “Leadership Series: Inside the Chicago Owners’ Box | Sponsored by Willkie,” SLA Annual Conference (May 13, 2026), https://www.sportslaw.org/conferences/2026conf/agenda/index.cfm.
Drew Schott is a J.D. Candidate at Tulane University Law School. He was a Staff Writer for The Sports Lawyer Monthly during the 2025-26 academic year.
