Lake Forest, Illinois - Chicago Bears' plans for the New Dome Stadium have changed again.

The team is now focused on building a stadium in Arlington Heights, Illinois, with the franchise on 326 acres that formerly Arlington International Racecourse. The development comes after the Bears said they are exploring Arlington Heights and Chicago Lakeshores south of the current soldier site.

"We have made significant progress in the past few months with leaders in Arlington Heights and look forward to continuing to work with state and local leaders to become a reality for transformative economic development projects in the region," the Bears said in a statement obtained by ESPN.

The Bears bought land in Arlington Heights for $172 million in September 2021, but have not started developing the site, which is expected to have multi-billion-dollar stadium projects that include restaurants, retail space and real estate. The team began exploring options for new stadiums outside Arlington Heights as negotiations on property taxes hit a $100 million deadlock.

In Rat, Arlington Heights Village approved a deal to formally review the Bears’ $5 billion plan to build a stadium in the suburbs.

Bears president and CEO Kevin Warren said in April that the team’s goal is to start building on a new stadium in 2025. Bear Chairman George McCaskey said private equity could be part of our stadium construction financing plan, but the team has not yet made a decision on that.

“Yes, my goal is still there, and it’s important to be able to get around dirt in 2025 because whether you’re on the museum campus, Michael Reese (former hospital) or downtown, there’s a lot of pre-building work to get us ready for a year, so we only have the first year annual meeting.”

The Chicago Tribune first reported the news that the Bears were focused on Arlington Heights.