CHICAGO (AP) — The Chicago Bears are looking to build a stadium in Northwest Indiana after a proposal to provide financial incentives for the NFL team to build its new home in Illinois stalled in the state legislature.
The Bears’ board of directors voted Thursday to move forward with a stadium development project in Hammond, Indiana. The team had been doing its due diligence on a tract of land near Wolf Lake, but it said Friday that an exact site had not been selected.
“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,” the Bears said in a statement that the team attributed to chairman George McCaskey and team president Kevin Warren. “It will bring Chicagoland together and deliver new opportunities to its residents and businesses.”
Indiana Gov. Mike Braun welcomed the team’s announcement. A committee in the Indiana House of Representatives passed a bill in February that established a Northwest Indiana Stadium Authority to finance, construct and lease a stadium.
“We look forward to building a partnership as strong as the ’85 Bears defense, creating opportunities and economic growth that will benefit our state and the Bears organization for decades to come,” Braun said in a statement. “An NFL franchise in Northwest Indiana will be an economic boost to the entire region like we haven’t seen before.”
The Bears, a charter NFL franchise, have played in Illinois since the team’s founding in 1920 as the Decatur Staleys. They moved to Chicago in 1921 and called Wrigley Field home before they started playing at Soldier Field in September 1971.
The Bears’ lease runs through 2033, but they can pay a fee to break the lease early. Soldier Field is about 40 miles south of Halas Hall — the team’s headquarters in Lake Forest, Illinois — and Hammond is about 20 miles south of the team’s lakefront stadium.
Matt Hill, a spokesperson for Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, said the governor “remains open to a sensible solution that protects taxpayers.”
“The Bears have built a storied legacy in Illinois for over 100 years but have spent the last six years, and especially the last few months, shifting their position on a stadium location,” Hill said in a statement. “That has hindered their progress. Today appears to be another instance of that after Illinois leaders have been working with the Bears in good faith.”
The Bears also had been considering Arlington Heights — about 30 miles northwest of Chicago — as a potential location for their new stadium.
The Illinois Senate passed a bill early Monday morning that would have cleared the way for Arlington Heights and Chicago to create local stadium authorities, creating a pathway for the Bears to avoid paying property taxes on a new stadium in Illinois. But the House adjourned without taking up the measure on the last day of the state’s spring legislative session.
State Rep. Kam Buckner, whose district includes Soldier Field, posted on social media that he spoke with Warren on Friday morning.
“He ended the conversation by committing to continue discussions around their pursuit of a new stadium in Illinois,” Buckner said.
While the Bears said as recently as May 21 that Hammond and Arlington Heights were the only sites under consideration, Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson has been lobbying for the team to stay in the city.
The mayor’s office issued a statement that said the city “will continue to engage in discussions grounded in the interests of our residents.”
The Bears still have to secure NFL approval for the location of their new stadium. NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy said the team has kept the league apprised of all developments.
The Bears have been pursuing a new home for years, but the process has been hampered by repeated twists and turns.
The team announced in September 2021 that it had signed a purchase agreement for 326 acres of land in Arlington Heights. The $197 million deal with Churchill Downs Incorporated was finalized in 2023.
In September 2022, the team unveiled a nearly $5 billion plan for Arlington Heights that called for an enclosed stadium that could host Super Bowls and Final Fours. The conceptual illustrations also provided for a year-round entertainment district with restaurants and shopping.
But the Bears shifted their focus toward building a new stadium next to Soldier Field after Warren was hired as team president in January 2023, replacing the retiring Ted Phillips. The plan to transform Chicago’s Museum Campus got an enthusiastic endorsement from Johnson and a tepid reception from Pritzker and state legislators when it was announced in April 2024.
The team switched gears again in May 2025, announcing it had made “significant progress” with local leaders in Arlington Heights.
Amid lingering efforts to secure tax incentives in Illinois, along with as much as $855 million in public money for infrastructure at the Arlington Heights site, the Bears began to take a closer look at possible options in Northwest Indiana.
Hammond Mayor Thomas McDermott Jr. said the Bears decided on Hammond because it’s “a successful city of opportunity and possibility, an excellent choice for such a significant investment.”
___
AP NFL: https://apnews.com/NFL
Jay Cohen, The Associated Press
