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Indiana Governor Gives Exact Odds Favoring His State for Bears Stadium

During an interview from the Indy 500, Mike Braun made it clear Illinois' legislature has a lot of work to do this week if they want to keep the Bears in state.
Gene Chamberlain|
Indiana Gov. Mike Braun has no problem saying his state is now the favorite for a Bears stadium.
Indiana Gov. Mike Braun has no problem saying his state is now the favorite for a Bears stadium. | Michelle Pemberton/IndyStar / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

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Chicago Bears

The Chicago Bears haven't found a new stadium solution in Illinois yet, but in their search they've found many new friends in Indiana.

Chief among them have been Hammond Mayor Thomas McDermott Jr. and Gov. Mike Braun, as that state's structure for funding a Bears stadium in Hammond passed the Indiana legislature by a huge majority long ago. Meanwhile, in Illinois a plan for the stadium on their own property still awaits one vote and Gov. J.B. Pritzker's signature before it's finalized, now only one week from the end of the spring legislative session.

The governor of Indiana made an appearance on Fox and Friends Weekend from the Indianapolis 500, and is now brazenly setting odds for the NFL team coming to his state. Of course, he's seeing it as Indiana favored because he has witnessed all of the in-fighting and political garbage going on in Illinois between all sides imaginable since the Bears took ownership of the former Arlington International Racecourse site with plans for a suburban Chicago stadium three years ago.

"I'd say 65-35, and I don't like to get ahead of my skis," Braun told Fox. "I've done a lot of real estate deals in my time in the real world. They can go south for many reasons, but their (Illinois) legislature hasn't tailored anything that they're (the Bears) interested in," Braun said. "We did it quickly. It impressed them and they saw what Indiana would be like as a long-term business partner.

"I can guarantee you it would be better than there (Illinois)."

At the moment, it would be hard for Illinois to argue to the contrary. The bill providing the Bears the right to negotiate payment in lieu of taxes with local taxing bodies is meeting so much resistance one week from the end of the legislative session that passage seems impossible.

Within the last week all sides have produced obstacles. The teachers union has gotten involved to prevent school districts from negotiating payments instead of taking taxes. Traffic flow plans and even Indiana's ability to build a stadium due to environmental concerns have been cited, with the bill seemingly close to being resolved.

The Bears already announced they'd have a late spring or early summer decision. Unless the megaproject bill passes before spring session ends, Braun likely would have them in Hammond as the tenants at an indoor stadium but with the ability to run the facility. They would not pay taxes for it. Arlington Heights would be Bears property with a huge tax bill but with the ability to lower it through negotiation.

Hammond is actually closer to the current Bears playing facility in Soldier Field than Arlington Heights. Their practice facility is not part of the discussion and sourced reports have said the Bears would remain at Halas Hall in Lake Forest, Ill.

Time is not on Illinois' side

Braun said Illinois has had plenty of time. Even in Illinois, this is hard to dispute.

"Three years they've (the Bears) been trying to get them (Illinois) to weigh in on it," Braun said. "In six months they came and saw we move at the speed of business, not government. We've got a triple-A credit rating. Where would you want to be in the next 50 years?"

Illinois' Moody's credit rating is two levels below Indiana's triple-A at Aa2.

"They're going to be the Chicago Bears but doing it in Indiana," Braun said. "It would be a smart decision for them."

Braun said he expects the entire thing to be settled by the Bears within a month or month and a half, which would put it in early summer but prior to the start of the team's training camp.

Going by the Bears' own announcement and the need or the Illinois legislature to pass the megaproject bill before this session ends, it might come sooner.

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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.

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