WARE, England — As the Chicago Bears practiced Thursday on a football field surrounded by the rolling hills of the English countryside, Chairman George McCaskey called the team’s accommodations an hour north of London “very impressive.”
McCaskey spoke with reporters at Hanbury Manor during the team’s first full practice before Sunday’s game against the Jacksonville Jaguars at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. The Bears held walk-throughs Wednesday and will practice as normal Friday.
“To be able to walk down the hill to the practice pitch is very convenient,” McCaskey said of the hotel, which had a field built for visiting NFL teams. “Field’s in great shape. Facilities are good. Everybody’s got a positive mindset, and we’re excited about Sunday.”
McCaskey covered a range of topics beyond the Bears’ first international trip since 2019. Here are five other things he said.
1. The Bears are confident in President/CEO Kevin Warren to break ground on a new stadium next year.
Warren said Wednesday the goal remains to begin construction on a $4.7 billion stadium project on Chicago’s lakefront at some point in 2025. When McCaskey was asked whether he’s confident in that timeline, he said, “Yes. We’re confident in Kevin.”
But McCaskey acknowledged progress has to be made as the Bears seek public funding for nearly half of the project.
“There’s a veto session in November, there’s a lame-duck session in January and then there’s a spring session right after that,” McCaskey said. “So at some time in one of those sessions, we’re going to have to have some sort of enabling legislation to allow the project to move forward.”
The Bears also own the 326-acre Arlington Heights property they officially closed on in February 2023. But McCaskey reiterated Warren’s message that the Bears remain focused on a lakefront stadium. He said it’s “not at all” conflicting that Warren has pushed hard for a stadium in Chicago, while Warren’s predecessor, Ted Phillips, envisioned one in Arlington Heights.
“We want to go where the best deal is possible, where it’s most feasible — financially, politically, geographically,” McCaskey said. “The lakefront is an excellent site and we think that a roofed stadium just south of Soldier Field can be great for Chicago, for the region and for the state of Illinois.”
2. The Bears aren’t ‘actively pursuing’ selling a stake in the team to private equity — but they will look at it.
Bears President Kevin Warren, right, greets Chairman George McCaskey as they work out on June 29, 2023, at Halas Hall. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)
NFL owners voted in August to allow private equity firms to purchase up to a 10% stake in teams.
McCaskey echoed Warren’s comments Wednesday about the Bears being in exploration mode when it comes to such a sale. Don’t expect them to be the first team to do it, McCaskey said, even as they weigh how it might help the costs of stadium construction.
“We’re going to look at it,” McCaskey said. “We’re certainly not going to be the first team to jump in. We may never do it. But you study all the options and make sure you have alternatives available.
“It’s not something we’re actively pursuing. You might see a private equity transaction in the NFL before the year is out. … So we’ll watch. We’ll analyze and we’ll see if it works for us.”
3. Rookie quarterback Caleb Williams is an ‘irrepressible spirit.’
McCaskey said he usually tries to stay out of players’ way once the season starts. But he has gotten to know what Williams is about.
“He’s an irrepressible spirit, and if he wants to get to know you, you don’t have a choice in the matter,” McCaskey said. “It’s been a lot of fun. He always says hello. He’s always friendly. And he’s fun to watch.”
McCaskey praised the way the coaching staff has helped Williams along in his rookie season, particularly with off-the-field matters.
“We wanted to have a structure in place for him to succeed, and a lot of that was protecting him from the inevitable distractions when you’re the starting quarterback of the Chicago Bears,” McCaskey said. “Everybody wants some of your time, and unfortunately in order for him to do his job properly, he doesn’t have time for everyone.
“We have to protect him, we have to act as buffers, and I think we have a good support system in place for him.”
4. ‘Hard Knocks’ put together a ‘great series’ on the Bears.
McCaskey long made it known he wasn’t in favor of the Bears being featured on the HBO series. But he seemed generally pleased with the experience during training camp this summer.
He called director Shannon Furman and her crew professional, flexible and cooperative. The show notably edited out expletives for the Bears series.
He wouldn’t say whether his mother, Bears owner Virginia McCaskey, watched and liked the show. “We didn’t talk about it,” he said.
But he did say he enjoyed some aspects of the storytelling, joking about the storyline about Velus Jones Jr.’s late ferret.
“I didn’t know that things like pet ferrets would capture the nation’s attention, but I thought they did a great job telling human stories,” McCaskey said. “And I thought they also humanized Ryan (Poles) and Matt (Eberflus). You could see how much they care about our players. And I thought they cast the greatest city in the world in a great light.”
5. The Bears did pursue Tom Brady in the 2020 offseason.
Brady spoke on a recent Fox Sports broadcast about his decision-making process in finding a new team after the New England Patriots, and he mentioned the Bears were one of his suitors.
McCaskey said he wasn’t directly part of the pitch by former Bears general manager Ryan Pace and coach Matt Nagy. Brady wound up signing with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and won his seventh Super Bowl.
“Well, that seems like ancient history at this point,” McCaskey said. “I do remember we were interested in pursuing him. It didn’t work out for us. Worked out great for him in Tampa.”
