Bears president and CEO Kevin Warren made one thing very clear at the NFL owners’ meetings: building a new stadium in Chicago on the lakefront is now the priority for the team — not Arlington Park, Adam Jahns and Kevin Fishbain of The Athletic report.

“The plan will be to put a shovel in the ground on the lakefront,” Warren said.

He said a plan, including renderings and video, will be released in the near future.

Despite the Bears’ $197.2 million purchase of a 326-acre plot of land in suburban Arlington Heights, Warren said the team is focused on bringing a state-of-the-art stadium to Chicago. It would be located on the Waldron Deck and south parking lot land. Soldier Field would be demolished, except for the collonades, creating more green space on the Museum Campus.

“I strongly believe that we’re building momentum to that museum area,” he said.

“It will set this city up for greatness for the next 100 years,” he said. “If you go back and look at the Daniel Burnham plan from 1932, you’re talking about a vision. He set the vision for the World’s Fair. And everything is in place. I think the area at the museum campus is the most beautiful piece of property in the country that we’ll be able to build a campus together with the museums, with the stadium, with the lake, with the downtown on the backdrop, and to be able to enjoy Chicago like we should be able to enjoy Chicago.”

Bears chairman George McCaskey echoed Warren later in the day.

“We want what’s best for Bears fans and what’s best for the community,” McCaskey said. “And if that can be done on the museum campus, we’d be thrilled.

“That area is a jewel of our great city. But it needs better access. And this is an opportunity to provide that and bring out all that the Museum Campus has to offer. And I think if we do it right, it will be great for the museums, great for Bears fans, great for the people of the city of Chicago and great for the region.”

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