New Bears president Kevin Warren targets Super Bowl, new stadium
New Bears president Kevin Warren speaks Tuesday at Halas Hall.
Anthony Vazquez/Sun-Times
The Bears introduced new president and CEO Kevin Warren on Tuesday, and he immediately took aim at winning the Super Bowl and building a world-class stadium.
“It’s because of the challenge, because of the opportunity,” Warren said. “We’re gonna build an incredible franchise. I came here to win championships.”
Warren said part of his plan to establish “an incredible culture” at Halas Hall is to meet with every employee one-on-one and get their input on how to lead the Bears to a championship.
As for the new stadium, he reiterated outgoing president Ted Phillips’ message that the Arlington Heights site is the organization’s sole focus and it is not considering any options in Chicago. Mayor Lori Lightfoot has advocated for a massive renovation of Soldier Field to keep the Bears in the city.
He declined to give a timetable on when the Arlington Heights stadium could be ready, but said he would have a clearer idea of that in about six months.
The Bears hired Warren as the fifth president in franchise history last week. He’s the team’s first Black president and first hired from outside the organization. He is expected to officially begin team business in April, but Warren said he is already at work learning the organization.
With Warren’s hiring, general manager Ryan Poles will now report to him rather than chairman George McCaskey.
Warren, 59, spent the last three years as commissioner of the Big Ten, but most of his experience in sports was in the NFL. He was an executive with the Vikings from 2005 through ‘19, the Lions from 2001 through ‘03 and the Rams from 1997 through 2000.
He was with the Lions when they opened Ford Field in 2002 and was COO of the Vikings when they opened U.S. Bank Stadium.