WARE, United Kingdom – Since arriving in London Tuesday morning, Bears president and CEO Kevin Warren has encountered many of the team's fans.
"It's been fantastic to see the number of fans here," Warren said during a Wednesday press conference in advance of Sunday's game against the Jaguars at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. "And when you see people in London walking down the street in Ditka sweaters and Refrigerator Perry jerseys and all those different things, it's magnificent."
It's so magnificent that Warren would love for the Bears to play more games outside the United States; the club was assigned the United Kingdom and Spain in 2022 as part of the NFL's Global Markets Program, which awards teams international marketing rights to build their fan base and brand awareness through fan engagement, events and commercial opportunities.
"I am extremely positive about international growth," Warren said. "I've made that clear. It's a blessing to be here today. We have 40 million fans worldwide and one of the things you find by coming over here … you realize how small this world is, and my focus will remain to shrink the world. The National Football League is an absolutely vibrant entity and anytime you get a chance to play on an international basis, I want to lean into it. We're leaning into it this year."
The Bears are leaning into it by staging a full week of fan engagement activities, entertainment collaborations and community events in London, expanding on the organization's commitment to growth throughout the United Kingdom.
"Any time I get an opportunity to lead an organization to come internationally, I'm ecstatic," Warren said. "I'm excited about it. I love what the National Football League is doing, and it just reiterates the power of the Chicago Bears brand around the world. We're able to shrink the world and get new fans. We'll pick up new fans this week that we didn't have last week, which makes this an exciting experience."
Stadium news
Most of Warren's press conference was about the Bears' plans to build a new stadium along Chicago's lakefront. When a reporter inquired about it, Warren said: "One of my favorite subjects. Thanks for asking."
In response to the question, he said: "The status is we're continuing to make progress. We have a plan. We stay focused still to be able to be in the ground, start construction some time in 2025. There's a lot of activity that is still going on. We're having regular meetings with key business leaders, key politicians, just staying focused and on course. This is a long journey. On any of these stadium projects you try to make it as straight of a journey as you possibly can, but this takes time, it takes a lot of effort, it takes a lot of energy. I've been there before and, so we're exactly where I thought we would be at this point in time."
As Vikings chief operating officer, Warren was instrumental in the design, development and planning of U.S. Bank Stadium—which opened in 2016 and hosted Super Bowl LII Feb. 4, 2018—as well as the Twin Cities Orthopedics Performance Center, the Vikings' training facility.
In April, the Bears unveiled their plans to build a state-of-the-art fixed-roof stadium along Chicago's lakefront.
The Burnham Park Project includes a new publicly-owned multipurpose replacement stadium located just south of Soldier Field that's part of a singular year-round hub centered on park-based culture and recreation.
The proposal boasts year-round use for recreational and community events and an increase in open and green space, including 14 acres of athletic fields and recreational park space for use by public and youth sports programs. The athletic fields would provide a high-quality, safe place for the city's youth, especially those from nearby underserved neighborhoods, to gather and play sports.
The Bears still own 326 acres that they purchased in Arlington Heights in February 2023 for a possible stadium development, but Warren reiterated what he's been saying for months, stating: "Our focus right now is on Chicago."
"We have an opportunity in Chicago," Warren said, "to really think creatively out of the box to say that we have a piece of land—I still argue it is the most beautiful piece of land in the world with the lake, with the downtown, with the museum campuses—and what can we do to be able to pull all that together in and around the museum campuses, downtown, the lake, the football stadium, green space. And so I look at it as an opportunity."
Warren scoffed when asked if he was worn down by what can be an exhaustive process.
"Me worn down? Never, no," he said. "I'm actually energized by it because anything that is great in life, anything that lasts 50 years, takes a lot of energy and effort. I'm confident in the political leadership, the business leadership, our fan base that we'll be able to figure this out, and so it will become a crown jewel for the National Football League. I look 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. These are not easy projects and so again, I'm energized. I'm excited. It's been good to work together. We learn something each and every day and we'll continue to move forward."
