Bear Digest

Bears and Indiana send message of clear intent to the stadium deniers

A bill has been presented in Indiana setting up stadium authority in the Hammond, Indiana area all while Illinois politicians sit on their hands.
Gene Chamberlain|
The Bears' lease at Soldier field expires in 2033 but it's looking like the team could be in Indiana before then.
The Bears' lease at Soldier field expires in 2033 but it's looking like the team could be in Indiana before then. | Chicago Bears On SI Photo: Gene Chamberlain

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Chicago Bears

The Bears are not wasting time, after the state of Illinois has done only that.

It appears to be long past time for Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker to quit sitting on his hands and make a late comeback like Caleb Williams does if he wants to keep the team in the state.

Indiana Senate Bill 27 was introduced on Thursday to establish a way to fund a stadium authority in northwest Indiana for a future Bears home.

As NFL Network's Ian Rapoport put it in a post on "X," "moving quickly..."

The bill is authored by Indiana state senators Ryan Mishler and Chris Garten. The wording of the bill is that it "Establishes the northwest Indiana stadium authority (stadium authority) for the purpose of acquiring and financing certain facilities. Sets forth the powers and duties of the stadium authority."

The bill has been assigned to the appropriations committee.

The Bears issued a statement on the move: "The legislation presented by the State of Indiana is a significant milestone in our discussions around a potential stadium development in Chicagoland's Northwest Indiana region. We appreciate the leadership and responsiveness of Governor Braun and Indiana lawmakers in advancing a framework that allows these conversations to move foward."

This is a punch to the gut of Pritzker and the Chicago politicians who continue to insist on holding up the Arlington Heights stadium project out of some misguided hope they will be able to keep the team from moving out of the city. The Bears are building the stadium with their own money and help from the league, but need a little less than $900 million in infrastructure improvements in the Arlington Heights area to do it. They want tax rate certainty for the future and have already negotiated what this would look like with area school districts, but they need the state to sign off on it.

So far they have been stonewalled on this in Springfield, where Democrats control super majorities. In a letter to season ticket holders, the Bears said they don't believe their project would be considered this year in Springfield, either.

“We have been told directly by State leadership, our project will not be a priority in 2026, despite the benefits it will bring to Illinois,” team president Kevin Warren wrote, in explaining why they are now considering the Hammond-Gary area for a site.

Last week, commissioner Roger Goodell toured the 326-acre Arlington Heights property that formerly was home to Arlington International Racecourse, and is now owned by the Bears. He also went to Indiana with Bears brass and looked at possible locations there. One was reportedly a grassy area south of Wolf Lake in Hammond on the west side of Calumet Ave., across from Lost Marsh Golf Course. Tests on the soil have reportedly been done at that site.

There have been several Chicago aldermen saying team is only using the Indiana situation as leverage, but if so they are going to greater and greater lengths to establish this ruse.

“This is not about leverage," Warren said in his letter to season ticket holders. “Our goal is clear: build a world-class football team that has a world-class stadium worthy of our world-class fans—a stadium that reflects the future we are building together.”

The Bears offered to pay $25 million to the city in addition to the remainder of their Soldier Field lease, which expires in 2033 in an attempt to get the proper support but this wasn't even considered. The current Soldier Field was financed through the Bears and NFL and also the Illinois Sports Facilities Authority.

The Bears and NFL already paid of their portions of that deal and in the meantime the ISFA still owes $534.4 million on a $632 million project share, according to Crain's. The renovation opened in 2003.

Pritzker on Tuesday had seemed to be making an attempt to extend an olive branch, or at least the end of a stick of some kind with something on it.

“We help private businesses all the time in the state, and I want to help,” he said, according to WGN. “If it’s with infrastructure, as we do with other private businesses, that’s absolutely a way we could do that.”

He didn't mention the tax rate freeze they want.

The city and Pritzker have said they want the Bears to pay off that remaining amount the city owes, which was mismanaged by tying it to local hotel and restaurant taxes.

The clock is ticking and the time for sitting around on one's rear and saying the Bears are pretending to like Indiana is done. Pritzker offering that infrastructure now after all of this time is a little too late in the game. He doesn't quite have Caleb Williams' knack for comebacks.

Anticipate some type of announcement from the Bears and Indiana in the near future while the Illinois politicians drive another business out of state, then do what they do best—cry, whine and look for a friendly court where they can try to sue someone.

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Gene Chamberlain
GENE CHAMBERLAIN

Gene Chamberlain has covered the Chicago Bears full time as a beat writer since 1994 and prior to this on a part-time basis for 10 years. He covered the Bears as a beat writer for Suburban Chicago Newspapers, the Daily Southtown, Copley News Service and has been a contributor for the Daily Herald, the Associated Press, Bear Report, CBS Sports.com and The Sporting News. He also has worked a prep sports writer for Tribune Newspapers and Sun-Times newspapers.