(Bloomberg) -- The Chicago Bears are taking steps to stay in the third-largest US city with a plan to contribute more than $2 billion of private investment to build a new stadium. 

After more than a year of speculation that the team would move to a new site in the suburbs, Bears Chief Executive Officer and President Kevin Warren revealed the new proposal on Monday.

“The Chicago Bears are committed to contributing over $2 billion to build a stadium and improve open spaces for all families, fans and the general public to enjoy in the City of Chicago,” Warren said in an emailed statement. “The future stadium of the Chicago Bears will bring a transformative opportunity to our region — boosting the economy, creating jobs, facilitating mega events and generating millions in tax revenue.” 

While the plans have not been finalized yet, Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson said the announcement was a “welcome step” toward the team and the city inking a public-private partnership on a new stadium. 

The Bears have been discussing whether to build a new stadium in Arlington Heights, Illinois, a suburb located about 24 miles (about 39 kilometers) northwest of Chicago. Several years ago, the team had agreed to buy a 326-acre property that was the site of a horse racecourse owned by Churchill Downs Inc.

Talks with Arlington Heights ran into trouble when the Cook County Assessor’s Office increased the value of the racecourse property, thus raising the Bears’ tax bill. In a statement to local press in June, the organization said that the suburban stadium “is no longer our singular focus,” citing the assessment as a reason for broadening its search. 

Arlington Heights Mayor Tom Hayes said they didn’t receive a courtesy call from the Bears about the new Chicago plan and are reserving comment until municipal officials speak with the team. “All I can say for certain is that a Bears stadium is a long way from a done deal at either location,” he said in an email.

Both Chicago and the state of Illinois have been reluctant to commit public dollars to professional sports teams. 

The new plans involve a domed stadium near the site of the current Bears’ facility called Solider Field, according to Crain’s Chicago Business.

Related: Pritzker Is ‘Reluctant’ to Tap Public Money for Chicago Stadium

“We want to see our teams be in Chicago and we want to see them thrive but we are very conscious about our own budget and our own resources and our own priorities,” Jill Jaworski, Chicago’s chief financial officer, said in an interview with Bloomberg News earlier this month. “We are not at this point offering up any additional public dollars from the city.” 

Soldier Field is the oldest stadium in the National Football League and holds as many as 61,500 people, making it one of the league’s smaller venues. Because of its limited capacity, the Bears’ average-game attendance ranked last among NFL teams in 2023. 

--With assistance from Randall Williams.

(Updates story with context on Arlington Heights tax assessment in sixth paragraph.)

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