Bears Weigh Merging Two Indiana Sites for New Stadium
Team officials say Hammond, Indiana remains the focus even as talks with Illinois continue.
The Chicago Bears have at least one viable site for a new stadium in northwest Indiana and are examining a second location as they move closer to finalizing a home for the franchise, team executives said Thursday.
The Bears announced in June they were moving forward with a stadium development project in Hammond, Indiana. They have completed their review of the Lost Marsh site and are now conducting due diligence on the Wolf Lake Terminal site. The two options could ultimately be merged.
"Even though we've had occasional meetings with the state of Illinois, our sole focus at this point in time is working on a world-class stadium and mixed-use development in Hammond, Indiana," team President Kevin Warren said.
The Bears had also been considering Arlington Heights, about 30 miles northwest of Chicago, for an enclosed stadium. Chairman George McCaskey said a name change is off the table regardless of location: "We will be the Chicago Bears whether we're in Arlington or whether we're in Hammond."
The Bears, a charter NFL franchise, have played in Illinois since their 1920 founding as the Decatur Staleys, moving to Chicago in 1921. Their lease at Soldier Field runs through 2033, though they can pay a fee to break it early. Hammond sits about 20 miles south of the team's current lakefront stadium.
The push toward Indiana intensified after a bill offering financial incentives for an Illinois stadium stalled in the state legislature. An Indiana House committee passed a bill in February creating a Northwest Indiana Stadium Authority to finance, construct and lease a stadium, while an Illinois Senate measure covering Arlington Heights and Chicago died when the House adjourned without taking it up.
Gov. JB Pritzker said his office remains in contact with the team. "We're working hard to make sure that there's an opportunity for the Bears to stay in the state of Illinois, whether it's in Chicago or in Arlington Heights," he said, adding that he also wants to protect taxpayers.
Warren said the team is in near-daily talks with Indiana officials. "We have an excellent deal, a win-win partnership together," he said, "and the cost of the significance of this decision from a stadium standpoint, we will make sure that we take our time to get this right."
This article was produced with the assistance of artificial intelligence (AI), in accordance with our editorial policy.
