Chicago (United States) (AFP) – A relocation by the NFL Chicago Bears across state lines moved closer on Friday when the team announced its board of directors voted to advance an Indiana stadium development project. No specific site has been located in nearby Hammond, Indiana, but the Bears made the move after Illinois lawmakers adjourned their session without approving local stadium authorities for Chicago and Arlington Heights, allowing them to avoid having the Bears pay property taxes on a new stadium.
“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 across neighborhoods and suburbs stretching north of the city,” Bears chairman George H. McCaskey and president and chief executive Kevin Warren said in a statement. “It will bring Chicagoland together and deliver new opportunities to its residents and businesses.”
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Toni Preckwinkle, president of the Cooke County board of commissioners, said talks continue with the Bears. “Conversations are ongoing,” he said. “Cook County remains willing to engage with team ownership and state leaders to explore a path that keeps the Bears in Illinois. As those conversations continue, I am committed to solutions that protect taxpayer dollars while continuing to support the legacy of the Bears in our state.”
In 2022, the Bears had unveiled plans for an enclosed stadium in Arlington Heights that could host Super Bowls, but the plan shifted to building a new stadium near current home Soldier Field after Kevin Warren became Bears team president in January 2023, replacing retiring Ted Phillips. Last year, the team announced “significant progress” in talks with Arlington Heights leaders, but the Bears said they were open to other offers, and Indiana created a stadium authority for the Hammond region and made a pitch to finance, construct, and lease a stadium.
The Bears were founded as the Decatur Staleys in 1920 and moved to Chicago the following year, playing 50 years at Wrigley Field, home of baseball’s Chicago Cubs. Hammond was among the early NFL teams, the Pros playing there from 1920-1926.
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