In a move that could end a century of home games, the National Football League’s Chicago Bears are moving forward with plans to build a new stadium across the state line in Indiana.
The team announced in a website posted June 5 that its board of directors voted to move forward with its northwest Indiana stadium development project, with the exact site to be determined but speculated to be Hammond, Indiana.
“We believe a world-class stadium project in Hammond will transform the region, connecting Northwest Indiana to the South Side of Chicago through the Loop and through neighborhoods and suburbs that stretch north of the city,” the Bears said in a statement. “It will bring Chicagoland together and provide new opportunities for its residents and businesses.”
The Bears announced earlier this month that the team was no longer considering Chicago’s Soldier Field for a new stadium, which left northwest suburban Arlington Heights, Ill., and Hammond, Ind., as other possible options.
The decision to favor the move to Indiana comes after the Illinois General Assembly failed to pass a bill aimed at keeping the franchise in Arlington Heights during its spring session that ended May 31. The bill would have allowed the Bears, along with other developers of projects between $100 million and $500 million, to negotiate with local property tax levels instead of negotiating with municipalities for an annual levy on the property. assessed value of the property.
Reflecting concerns about the bill, Cook County Treasurer Maria Pappas said on the treasurer’s website that “property tax savings from megaprojects could amount to billions of dollars, money that would otherwise go to fund schools and other local governments.”
The Bears organization has said it might reconsider its stay in Illinois if the state passes a version of the megaproject tax bill. Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker (D) released a statement saying lawmakers had been working in “good faith” to keep the team in the state.
But Indiana lawmakers are offering the Bears a public-private partnership to build an indoor stadium, possibly somewhere near Wolf Lake. In February, state Gov. Mike Braun (R) signed legislation that would create the Northwest Indiana Stadium Authority to oversee land acquisition, financing and leases. The stadium would be funded by a 12% ticket tax, hoteliers tax and regional food and drink taxes. The Bears would be responsible for the construction debt while paying zero property taxes for the stadium.
Like the Arlington Heights site, the Indiana site is expected to cost $5 billion and would achieve the Bears’ goal of allowing year-round use of the facility for events such as concerts and hosting a Super Bowl.
In April 2024, the Bears had unveiled a plan to build a $4.6 billion domed stadium on Chicago Museum Campus District property overlooking Lake Michigan. Insisting at the time that it no longer had plans to build a stadium in the suburbs, the team said it would demolish Soldier Field, last rebuilt in 2003, and replace it with gardens and athletic fields. That plan never gained traction.
There are no concept designs or renderings available for a potential Indiana stadium yet.
