Moving outside of the city of Chicago is not a decision we reached easily,” Warren said. “This project does not represent us leaving, it represents us expanding. The Bears draw fans from all over Illinois, and over 50 percent of our season-ticket holders live within 25 miles of the Arlington Heights site.”

The Bears sent the letter hours before their season opener against the Minnesota Vikings.

Warren made it clear the team is committed to building a stadium, saying “this is the year” to finalize plans so the team could bid to host a Super Bowl “as soon as 2031.” He said the stadium would “require zero state money for construction,” but the team would need the legislature to pass a bill in October to start construction this year.