Recently, The Athletic took the liberty of ranking all of the stadiums the NFL has to offer.
For Soldier Field, they ranked the stadium the 23rd best in the NFL. Trust me, that's a generous ranking for the league's smallest stadium. Six ballots had the field ranked one of the four worst stadiums in the league. Though, three years ago, it was ranked seventh in the NFL.
"The drop could be related to the fact that the Bears could be leaving Soldier Field in the near future," Bears reporter Adam Jahns wrote. "The Bears closed on the massive Arlington Park property in suburban Arlington Heights, though tax-related issues have resulted in a reopened search for a new site for a stadium.
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"New team president Kevin Warren has taken the lead on the process. Or the drop suggests that enough fans, tourists and media members have finally experienced Chicago traffic at its worst to shift the votes. A city that’s known for its outstanding food doesn’t really showcase it at Soldier Field, either."
The Bears are currently looking for a new stadium to call home.
They closed on a 326-acre property in Arlington Heights for just under $200 million in February. However, as Jahns mentioned, tax and property assessment issues have kept them from moving forward with the property.
They reopened their search for a new place to call home, saying Arlington Heights is no longer its "singular focus." Other municipalities including Naperville, Aurora and Waukegan, have publicly expressed their interest in hosting the Bears and their stadium desires.
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With an assessment meeting coming in the fall, they currently stand at an impasse, awaiting the final decision to decide whether or not they will actually move off the land in Arlington Heights.
It's been an arduous journey, considering it took two years to close on the property itself. But, if this ranking shows anything, it's that the Bears will soon no longer call Soldier Field its home.