Brian Urlacher said he does not want the Bears playing anywhere but Soldier Field, and he made clear he does not like the idea of the team moving into a dome anywhere. The former Bears Hall of Fame linebacker said he still wants the team to stay in the place where he played his home games, even as stadium talk keeps moving toward dome options in Illinois and Indiana.
Urlacher’s comments land now because the Bears are still weighing those options, with no final call yet on whether they would build in Illinois or head to Indiana. His view cuts against the modern argument for a roofed building, but it also comes from someone who knows what Chicago weather can do to an opponent and to a home team that lives in it every week.
“It’s the only advantage the Bears have,” Urlacher said of the weather edge. He said the team practices in it, gets used to it and can use it when games turn cold. In his view, playing outdoors at Soldier Field in November and December is part of what makes the Bears difficult to visit, and part of what they would give away if they moved into a dome.
That is where his opinion turns practical. Urlacher said he understands why a move to Indiana could make financial sense, because the Bears do not own Soldier Field and Sundays are not very profitable there. He also said Indiana is willing to offer more, which is why the business case looks stronger even if the football case does not.
“I don’t like it, but business wise it makes a ton of sense for them to go to Indiana,” he said. “I don’t like the Bears playing anywhere but Soldier Field.”
The split in Urlacher’s remarks is the same one facing the Bears: a dome could mean a cleaner deal and a stronger financial setup, but it could also erase the cold-weather edge he says the team still has. Until the Bears choose between Illinois and Indiana, Soldier Field remains the standard he wants them to keep and the place he thinks they would give up the most by leaving.
