The Bears are one step closer to moving from their longtime Chicago home to Indiana, lawmakers in the Hoosier state announced Feb. 19.
Here’s what fans should know about where things stand with the team.
Are the Bears moving to Indiana?
Indiana lawmakers announced Thursday that they are in the process of hammering out a deal to potentially move the team from Chicago’s Soldier Field to a new stadium in northwest Indiana’s Lake County.
The deal is pending the passage of a bill providing the financial framework and further details for the proposed Hammond site.
‘It represents a transformational investment for northwest Indiana and our state,’ House Speaker Todd Huston told the House ways and means committee, sharing that the Chicago Bears are willing to invest $2 billion in a stadium site in the region.
Indiana Gov. Mike Braun clarified that the deal is by no means finalized, however, calling the situation a ‘framework for negotiating a final deal’ in an X post.
‘We have built a strong relationship with the Bears organization that will serve as the foundation for a public-private partnership, leading to the construction of a world-class stadium and a win for taxpayers,’ he said.
Why are the Bears considering a move to Indiana?
The team had been seeking tax breaks and nearly $900 million in public funding to build a stadium in Cook County, singling out Arlington Heights as an option in late 2025, according to media reports at the time.
Bears President and CFO Kevin Warren’s expressed his frustration with the state of negotiations in a Dec. 17 open letter, saying the team was not receiving ‘a sense of urgency or appreciation to date.’
Warren said in the letter the team would have to expand its search to the wider Chicagoland region, including northwest Indiana.
An NFL spokesperson told IndyStar in January that, under NFL rules, the Bears hold marketing rights in the area because it is within a 75-mile radius of downtown Chicago, a right that applies to every NFL team.
The announcement appeared to take Chicago leaders by surprise, with Gov. JB Pritzker calling it ‘a startling slap in the face’ in a statement to the Chicago Sun-Times.
Still, lawmakers had some level of preparation, with Indiana leaders establishing a ‘northwest Indiana professional sports development commission’ the previous year that was charged with figuring out how to build the infrastructure necessary to attract a professional sports team. That commission had been meeting and raising money prior to the letter.
Following the letter, Indiana Gov. Mike Braun said he was ‘ready to work with them to build a new stadium in Northwest Indiana’ on X.
Indiana has some competition, however: Lawmakers and dealmakers in both Illinois and Iowa have boogied to get their own incentive packages in order.
The local governments involved need to take a number of steps to make the financial deal come together, according to the bill: The city of Hammond would need to pass a 12% admissions tax on large events held at events in the city; Lake and Porter counties would need to adopt a county-wide 1% food and beverage tax, and Lake County would need to pass a 5% innkeepers tax. Revenue from these taxes would go toward repaying the bonds to build the stadium.
Illinois lawmakers surprised by progress of Indiana bill
Pritzker spokesperson Matt Hill broke the news on X that the Illinois General Assembly was ready to move forward with a funding bill Wednesday, but was told by the Bear leaders to pause deliberations to make tweaks to the deal.
‘This morning, we were surprised to see a statement lauding Indiana and ignoring Illinois,’ Hill said in an X post.
What happens now?
The bill has passed through the Senate and received unanimous approval by the House Ways and Means committee, meaning it’ll head to the House floor next.
Where is Hammond, Indiana?
Hammond, Indiana is located in Lake County, near the southern tip of Lake Michigan. The city of Hammond sits roughly 30 miles southeast of Chicago and about 7 miles west of Gary.
CONTRIBUTING: Joel A. Erickson and John Tufts, Indianapolis Star