LONDON — The Chicago Bears are not currently exploring private equity as a funding source for their new stadium but president and CEO Kevin Warren is looking into how it works.
NFL owners voted in August to allow private equity firms to buy limited stakes, up to 10 per cent, in teams for the first time.
Warren, who was speaking at the Chicago Bears media day ahead of Sunday’s game against the Jacksonville Jaguars at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, London, said: “At this point in time, it is not something that we are focused on and exploring in Chicago.
“I say that to say, these next couple of months my focus will be to make sure I truly understand how the private equity system would work in the NFL.
“There has not been a team announced yet who has gone and accepted the opportunity from a private equity standpoint but we already started a couple of weeks ago, the moment it was actually announced, and I will spend the next couple of months really digging deep into it. Not only how it operates but the financial implications, what happens down the road.
“I want to make sure any decisions we make do not create any unintended consequences.”
The Bears plan to build a new multipurpose stadium just south of Soldier Field, their home since 1971.
The team aims to start work, approval pending, by the summer of 2025 which could allow the stadium to be open by 2028. It will be a lakefront stadium with a fixed roof.
“It would become a crown jewel for the NFL and I am looking forward to being able to host mega events, not only being able to bid for the Super Bowl but final four college football games, concerts all those different things,” Warren said.
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- How Roger Bennett fell in love with the Chicago Bears, and the lessons of being a sports fan
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(Quinn Harris/Getty Images)
