Chicago Bears or not, Soldier Field can soldier on The Bears have played at Soldier Field since 1971, but that could end if the team moves to Arlington Heights | Robert A. Davis, Wed love to see the Bears stay at Soldier Field. But if the team is determined to move to Arlington Heights, Chicago and the state should pay no ransom to keep them in town. The Chicago Bears, once again, are threatening to move to the suburbs a routine thats just as much a part of the franchise history as Dick Butkus terrorizing an opposing teams offense or Walter Payton high-stepping across the goal line to score a touchdown. The threat usually winds up being a bid for the team to get a better Soldier Field lease deal from the city, or some kind of new stadium on the publics dime. The nearly $700 million renovation of Soldier Field in 2003 was kind of a hybrid between the two. But the Bears could be serious this time. The team last week put in a bid to buy the Arlington International Racecourse property in Arlington Heights. Wed love to keep the Bears in Chicago, playing inside the (mostly) historic Soldier Field, the teams home since 1971.