{"id":764767,"date":"2026-02-20T15:04:19","date_gmt":"2026-02-20T15:04:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/764767\/"},"modified":"2026-02-20T15:04:19","modified_gmt":"2026-02-20T15:04:19","slug":"chicago-bears-stadium-shock-is-a-slap-in-the-face-to-bears-fans","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/764767\/","title":{"rendered":"Chicago Bears stadium shock is a slap in the face to Bears fans"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>If there is one leverage the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thebiglead.com\/category\/nfl\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">NFL<\/a> teams have today, it is the right to move on from their host city. No franchise, no matter how passionate its fan base, is an exception.<\/p>\n<p>Whether it is something small like Jimmy Haslam moving the Cleveland Browns stadium to Brook Park or the LA teams, NFL owners will follow through on threats. Then there\u2019s the debacle that is the Chicago Bears.<\/p>\n<p>Sure, you can argue that the move is irrelevant, as they will still be \u201cclose\u201d to Chicago. What a slap in the face to a fan base and local economy, though.<\/p>\n<p>MORE: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thebiglead.com\/chicago-bears-stadium-future-takes-turn-after-major-illinois-setback\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Chicago Bears stadium future takes turn after major Illinois setback<\/a><\/p>\n<p>I get it. Stadiums need to be renovated, rebuilt, and sometimes moved entirely. However, to do this to one of the oldest, most passionate fan bases in the league? What a fine line to tote.<\/p>\n<p><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/default-788-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-124366\"  \/>Jan 18, 2026; Chicago, IL, USA; Chicago Bears fans during an NFC Divisional Round game at Soldier Field. Mandatory Credit: Matt Marton-Imagn Images<\/p>\n<p>The Bears\u2019 ownership reportedly received unanimous approval from Indiana to fund the building of a stadium in northeast Indiana. While the deal isn\u2019t \u201cofficial\u201d, the Chicago, Illinois, meeting to discuss their bill was canceled.<\/p>\n<p>Chicago politicians know that this is the end. The Bears are getting what they want at any cost\u2013even if it is their presence in one of America\u2019s most historic cities.<\/p>\n<p>What a disgrace. I can\u2019t blame the City of Chicago for wanting to get a favorable deal. The financial burden falls upon the taxpayers, visitors, and business owners.<\/p>\n<p>MORE: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thebiglead.com\/nfl-insider-ian-rapoport-faces-uncertainty-amid-nfl-networks-major-media-shift\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">NFL insider Ian Rapoport faces uncertainty amid NFL Network\u2019s major media shift<\/a><\/p>\n<p>So congrats, Bears ownership. You took your ball and went to your new home. After the Browns and St Louis Rams lawsuits, you\u2019d think they\u2019d prefer to make something work in Chicago.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/default-789-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-124368\"  \/>Jan 18, 2026; Chicago, IL, USA; Chicago Bears Hall of Fame linebacker Mike Singletary acknowledges the crowd during the fourth quarter of an NFC Divisional Round game against the Los Angeles Rams at Soldier Field. Mandatory Credit: David Banks-Imagn Images<\/p>\n<p>I suppose it was foolish of me to think otherwise. Now, Chicago will lose their Bears. Maybe there is still time for the Bears\u2019 ownership to wise up.<\/p>\n<p>As they should. Because to rip up your team from one of the sport\u2019s longest tenured host cities in an effort to hoard your greed? A dangerous precedent to set for NFL fans.<\/p>\n<p>Never underestimate the power of pissed-off sports fans\u2026<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thebiglead.com\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Enjoy free coverage of the top news &amp; trending stories on The Big Lead <\/a>\u2014<\/p>\n<p>OLYMPICS: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thebiglead.com\/usa-figure-skater-isabeau-levito-gushes-over-olympic-village\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">USA figure skater Isabeau Levito gushes over Olympic Village<\/a><\/p>\n<p>NFL: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thebiglead.com\/tyreek-hill-first-move-dolphins-release\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Tyreek Hill makes hilarious first move after Dolphins release<\/a><\/p>\n<p>CBB: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thebiglead.com\/ap-poll-top-25-college-basketball-week-15\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">2026 college basketball rankings, updated AP Top 25 after Week 15<\/a><\/p>\n<p>MLB: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thebiglead.com\/tigers-infielder-from-taiwan-apologizes-to-koreans-after-trash-talk-goes-viral\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Tigers infielder from Taiwan apologizes to Koreans after trash talk goes viral<\/a><\/p>\n<p>SPORTS MEDIA: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thebiglead.com\/college-hall-of-famer-father-of-chicago-bulls-coach-dies\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">College Hall of Famer, father of Chicago Bulls coach, dies<\/a>VIRAL: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thebiglead.com\/chloe-kim-obsessed-with-100k-gift-from-nfl-star-myles-garrett-after-olympics\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Chloe Kim \u2018obsessed\u2019 with $100k gift from NFL star Myles Garrett after Olympics<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"If there is one leverage the NFL teams have today, it is the right to move on from&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":764768,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[2070],"tags":[374,692,391,2493,7,932,6],"class_list":{"0":"post-764767","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-chicago-bears","8":"tag-bears","9":"tag-chicago","10":"tag-chicago-bears","11":"tag-chicagobears","12":"tag-football","13":"tag-indiana","14":"tag-nfl"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/116103577076300678","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/764767","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=764767"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/764767\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/764768"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=764767"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=764767"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=764767"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}