FEBRUARY 20: Even if the Bears move to Indiana, they will continue to practice at Halas Hall, their facility in Lake Forest, Illinois, according to Patrick Finley of the Chicago Sun-Times. Lake Forest is about 40 miles north of Soldier Field in Chicago and about 60 miles north of Hammond, Indiana. That distance is “largely irrelevant,” Finley adds, “given that the Bears, like every other NFL team, spends the night before each game — both home and away — at a hotel.”
The Bears invested over $100MM in Halas Hall in 2019 and both players and staff live in the area, so moving away would cause a number of unnecessary headaches for the team.
FEBRUARY 19: The Bears have looked into a potential relocation to northwest Indiana as they weigh their new stadium options. A move across the border appears to remain a distinct possibility. 
On Thursday, an amendment to Senate Bill 27 received unanimous approval in the state during a Ways and Means committee hearing in Indiana. As noted by All CHGO’s Adam Hoge, only a direct agreement between governor Mike Braun and the Bears themselves seems to be in the way of a final step regarding relocation. It was confirmed today the Bears are still willing to commit $2 billion to the construction of a new stadium in Indiana, as they have been for a potential move to Arlington Heights in Illinois.
“We’ve identified a promising site near Wolf Lake in Hammond and established a broad framework for negotiating a final deal,” a statement from Braun reads in part. “If approved, the proposed amendment to Senate Bill 27 puts forward the essential framework to complete this agreement, contingent upon site due diligence proceeding smoothly.”
An Illinois House Finance and Revenue committee hearing was scheduled to take place today, but it was canceled. Hoge reports the megaprojects bill which could have granted the Bears “tax certainty” regarding the Arlington Heights project was on the agenda but was not set to be voted on. The Bears still own a plot in Arlington Heights at this time.
“The passage of SB 27 would mark the most meaningful step forward in our stadium planning efforts to date,” a Bears statement reads in part. “We are committed to finishing the remaining site-specific necessary due diligence to support our vision to build a world-class stadium near the Wolf Lake area in Hammond, Indiana… We value our partnership and look forward to continuing to build our working relationship together.”
Hammond falls within a 75-mile radius of downtown Chicago. As such, the Bears already own marketing rights there in line with NFL rules for all of its teams. As noted by the Indy Star’s Joel A. Erickson, the Colts’ stance on this matter has not changed since a Bears relocation to Indiana became possible. The Colts simply “wish the Bears all the best on their stadium initiative.”
Connor Orr of Sports Illustrated reports a move across the Illinois-Indiana border “feels like an inevitability” at this point. Nothing has been finalized, but this is certainly a situation to watch closely. Interestingly, a move to Hammond would see the Bears play in the same location where George Halas spent time as a player in 1919 (h/t Mark Potash of the Chicago Sun-Times). The manner in which Illinois responds to today’s developments will likely play a key role in determining the Bears’ post-Soldier Field future.
And if this is allowed to happen Pritzger and every politician in Illinois wouldn’t get elected even as a dog catcher in Illinois ever again. It would be political suicide.
I don’t believe that this is anything other than a negotiating tactic by Warren (especially given his statement about a world class stadium-seems very pointed towards Chicago/Illinois). However, the thought of the Bears moving, of all teams, is totally insane to even consider.
Certain teams, through their histories, have been fundamentally tied to certain places. The Bears (and their arch rivals in Green Bay) are so fundamentally linked to those cities that’s incredible to see them elsewhere…let alone a whole ‘nother state. The Bears are probably the number one team that comes to mind when you consider teams that embody their cities and his tied they are to them.
That’s a little dramatic. Hammond isn’t far from Chicago. It might actually be easier for suburban fans to get to Hammond than it was to downtown Chicago.
They’d still be called “Chicago Bears.” It’t be like the Jets/Giants playing in NJ.
Fans on the SE side of the metro it will be easier for. Anyone coming from the N/NW/W it will not be easier for. SW it is debatable as it will be further but a straighter route.
@The Boogeyman I’d guess it would depend on the infrastructure. The extra mileage may be offset by not having to deal with downtown traffic.
@pt57: I’m being very pedantic here but it’d be a little bit different than the Giants and Jets. The Meadowlands is about 5 miles as the crow flies from NYC. You can see Manhattan from the parking lot. Hammond is around 20 miles from Chicago.
On a clear day you can see the Chicago skyline from the beaches in NW Indiana.
The Chicago Bears of Indiana.
Indiana Bears lol
Hammond is closer to Chicago than Arlington Park.
If an Indiana location would require fans to use I-80, then everyone suffers. That stretch of the interstate is usually clogged by traffic in both directions.
Get a new map. They are literally equidistant from each other, 25 miles north of CHI and 25 miles southeast.
But socioeconomically and societally, Arlington Heights is much more Chicago than Hammond is. Forcing a stadium into a city whose median income in $55k per household versus the one that is $115k per household is franchise malpractice.
Bears are as likely to play in Indiana as the Penguins were to play in Kansas City in 2012 when Mario leveraged Pittsburgh into a new arena. There is a 0.00% chance the Bears play in Indiana.
The view on tv will look the same to me. Just a better field.
…and the cities Cleveland, Baltimore, Houston, Oakland, San Diego, etc., etc. weren’t loyally tied to their teams? Any team including the Bears will go for the best that suits the owner/ “their” bottom line the best (i.e. Rams, Chargers – SoFi), not always taking their fans into account.
No one should be surprised in today’s “its all about the money” world.
Especially when an NFL club becomes just another pillar of Big Business getting subsidies from a Red State government while ordinary people have to scrape to put food on the table.
Correct. Which is why the Bears will never play in Indiana as the long term benefits of staying in IL well outweigh a move to Indiana. They are playing Mike Braun like a fiddle and he’s a being a useful idiot by showing the State of Illinois exactly what money they need to come up with.
Mike Braun is a moron as is anyone who thinks the Bears move out of Illinois.
To compare them to the Rams (Kroenke family always wanted out of STL) and the Chargers (Spanos family was never welcome in San Diego) is to not understand historical reasoning of franchise relocations. Same goes with Art Modell (east coast roots), Robert Irsay (IL raised, wanted a franchise in the midwest) and my guy Al Davis who said the Raiders are the brand, no matter the city.
MFitz- the Spanos’ were definitely welcomed into San Diego, but the love wasn’t reciprocated. They chased the ambulance all the way to LA just to be a guest in somebody else’s home.
The Colts relocated to Indianapolis in 1984 because the Maryland state legislature was going to use eminent domain powers to seize the club.
The Chargers have a more legitimate claim to the Southland by way of secondary market rules for TV. Contrast with the Raiders whose brand involves rappers wearing Raiders gear — an act that got the NFL entangled in a right-wing culture war.
AK 185- And the people in Baltimore never thought the Colts would leave. And the people in Cleveland didn’t think the Browns would leave. Likewise the St Louis fans or the San Diego fans, or the Oakland fans (twice). New owners don’t have the ties to the cities like the men who founded team. They’re going where the money is plentiful and they can make their share. Plus these days it’s all about pleasing shareholders, not fans or employees. People never thought the big automakers would leave Detroit. Procter and Gamble was founded in a Cincinnati (Ivorydale) guess what’s not there now? Shareholders rule the teams now and if the team or industry isn’t making money they’re going somewhere where they can. No more loyalty to a city, just because. Illinois is running a big deficit, Chicago’s budget is 2 billion short of being paid for, they can’t afford to build the Bears a big new stadium. So unless the Bears owner decides to stay out of the goodness of his heart (LOL 😂) looks like the Indiana Bears will be playing soon
I realize that, no arguments. My point is that there are a handful of teams that are iconically tied to their cities. It’s unbelievable that they could leave, though we know that they will. It’s definitely the end of what was in terms of
People keep bringing up other teams that have moved, with varying degrees of significance, but we have to understand that the Bears have been in Chicago for over 100 years. This isn’t the Cardinals, who have moved several times, or the Rams, who have done the same. We know that it’s possible. I’m saying that this is more significant, especially also in consideration of the impact that the Bears and Halas had on the early NFL.
AK- I understand your point, but as I have been told by several young people,” Things change.” In this world there are no loyalties anymore, no traditions that can’t be eliminated, nothing that can’t be corrupted for the love of money. I’ve had several discussions with people about the Cincinnati Reds and Bob Castellini selling the team. “The new owners won’t move the team if he sells,” they forget that when Marge Schott bought the team there were several suitors who wanted to move the team when they purchased it. It’s scary to me that the Chicago Bears could be moved so casually, but we’ve come close to an iconic team whose identity is ingrained in the city they play in being moved. I sincerely hope that this doesn’t come to pass, but with making money the prime concern amongst this new breed I wouldn’t put it past the team to bolt for greener pastures. Chicago and Illinois need to pray that a miracle happens and the owners reconsider or a mysterious Chicago billionaire materializes to help build a new stadium, because Indiana didn’t spend a ton of money researching, developing and planning the move just to force Chicago and Illinois to capitulate to the Bears demands. Just wait until the NFL commissioner wants to move the Panthers to Paris, France or Shad Khan takes the Jaguars to London. I’m betting it’s being discussed as we wonder about the future of DA BEARS.
You realize the people making these decision are likely the same general age-range as you, right? Unless you are a 70-80 year old commenting on an internet sports rumor site. Which, if so, honestly, respect on your tech savviness.
Given the current anti-American sentiment abroad, not to mention the horror show that is ICE, no US sports franchise will relocate to Europe as long as Donald Trump is in the White House.
The Chiefs dont play in Mizzouri…
If only team owners had to face reelection from the fans.
hence why they’re called owners
Most companies have board of trustees and can remove the owner under certain circumstances
Should have stopped dean spanos years ago but look where that got him. Second fiddle to the rams
Dean is very happy in LA, believe me. Team is playing in a state of the art stadium, built a multi-million dollar training facility for his players, gaining fan base each & every year and most importantly to him, his bottom line.
SD Chargers value: $1.5 B
LA Chargers value: $6.0B
You tell me if he’s truly sorry.
4x your worth in almost 10 years actually isn’t all that impressive esp to be under 10 as well
“Gaining fan base each and every year”
They still can’t fill their stadium with fans. Rival fans still fill their stadium lmao
He’s second fiddle to the Rams who are almost worth 12 billion double the Chargers
They do face reelection of a sort.
Don’t like the move? Stop watching and stop buying merchandise.
Yes they will as no one votes based on this stuff. It’s all emotion and pre determined ideas
The political leaders in Chicago and Springfield are basically daring the Bears to move. Their threat to raise real estate taxes at the Arlington Heights site to reflect increased value resulting from the Bears’ investment is nuts. In addition, they’re refusing to commit to normal infrastructure upgrades that every state commits to in order to get companies to agree to developing underutilized sites.
Again, they’re daring the Bears to move. The team basically has to at least appear to call their bluff and be prepared to leave if it’s not a bluff.
Facts, and the Bears are bluffing while using the State of Indiana. Exact same situation played out 15 years ago in the NHL with the Penguins and Kansas City. Pittsburgh gave Mario 5 years to find a new location, he chose to use KC to the point they committed to building a new arena with tax subsidies and when that happened, Pittsburgh come up with their own proposal based on casino revenue and agreed to 30 more years.
Same situation will happen here now that Braun has given the State of Illinois the exact dollar amount they need to come up with. It will happen and the Bears will never leave Illinois.
The Bears already own Arlington Park, they just don’t want to pay taxes on anything. Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos think the same way.
Yes Indiana definitely needs two teams. Hope Illinois says see ya good luck in crapville.
Hammond is within easy commuting distance of Chicago. It’s like Jets/Giants playing in NJ.
Get a new map. MetLife is less than 10 miles as the crow flies from NYC and firmly inside of metro NY/NJ while Hammond is over 25 miles from Michigan Avenue. Additionally Hammond is a dump with half the median household income of East Rutherford. They are vastly different situations.
Commutable for people from Hammond into Chicago? Sure, thousands of blue collar workers take the L in every day. Are Bears fans from either Chicagoland or downstate Illinois commuting to Hammond for a Sunday football game? Hell no.
@MFitz: Facts. Though Meadowlands is even closer than you say. It’s only five miles from. Manhattan as the crow flies. You can see Manhattan from the parking lot.
Kevin Warren is a failure.
Ridiculous comment. They went from the cellar to division champs last season. Warren spearheaded the Viking’s stadium several years ago. As much as I do NOT support tax payer funded stadiums, this is all about the Illinois legislature dilly dallying for several years about this and Warren has had enough. I wouldn’t blame them for moving on. And it’s not Warren’s fault.
The Arlington Heights proposal was for the Bears to pay for their own stadium, but get some tax incentives and have the city/state pay for some neighborhood development. That was rejected, in large part by the teachers union, which is ridiculous. Why should the team want to operate in that horrible business environment? Similar to how Oakland lost their sports teams, ridiculous policies.
Oakland lost those teams because of the A’s and Raiders owners. The Warriors already were dead-set on moving back to San Francisco.
Oakland lost those teams because the homeless/crime/vandalism/trash near the stadium was horrible. So many businesses shut down. The city went far left. Who wants to do business with that?
Oakland lost those teams because the Bay Area isn’t big enough for 2 teams, but had 2 as legacies from competing leagues in the 1960s. As the poorer side of the bay, Oakland lost out. San Francisco and the South Bay have more money.
For the first time in their franchise history, In N Out shut down a location. See: Oakland violent crime and the pols who allow it to perpetuate.
No, they lost those teams because of their limousine liberal politicians like Libby Schaaf constantly trying to grandstand over playing hardball over money while spending untold millions every year on completely nonsensical and unnecessary things.
I agree the Warriors were definitely gone, and the Raiders probably as well. The A’s weren’t though. The A’s thought they had a deal done only for Oakland politicians to grandstand over not doing it and try to squeeze more and more from them. In the end, nobody wins.
I’m not saying you’re the dumbest person in the world but you better hope the dumbest person in the world doesn’t pass away.
@MFitzpatrick I guarantee I’m more intelligent than you, you absolute clown.
You’re showing your ass with that comment too. Keep it moving fella
Don’t talk about people’s intelligence when you’re a midwit, junior. You can throw around all the lame insults you want but you’re still a midwit and a tryhard.
He was hired to do one job and he hasn’t done it. He has had absolutely nothing to do with the turnaround on the field. Agree with you about the political nonsense involved. I give it a 5% chance they leave Illinois
That’s a stupid thing to say. Because you can’t say he has failed until they move. After that you can say that. The only thing you can logically say is that he hasn’t succeeded yet. The rest is just nonsense made up in your own head.
Illinois is such a political and social mess why wouldn’t the Bears move? Likely it will cost the Bears and the Indiana state government less money to build a new stadium than doing it in Illinois.
However, a pox on both Illinois and Indiana (and Ohio with the Browns, and Missouri with the Chiefs) for burning tax money so rich people can get football palaces. I hope the Bears and Chiefs never get back to the Super Bowl, and since the Browns are such a mess I know they will never get to one for doing this.
I also hope none of these cold weather places ever get to host a Super Bowl, no matter how nice the stadiums are.
Why are you so against the cold weather stadiums getting to host a Super Bowl? As long as they’re domed/have a roof I don’t see the problem
42,
It’s not that I am against cold-weather sites getting Super Bowls, I live in a Northern state. What I object to are these new stadiums costing taxpayers billions of dollars to be built, and only the team owners get any return on investment.
For example, the Browns will make a ton of cash off their new stadium if they can ever get to NFL .500, but the Ohio and City of Cleveland tax payers have to pony up tons of money so the stadium can be built and people can get to it. This site is very close to Cleveland Hopkins Airport, and it will cost $$$$ to even organize auto and rapid transit routes that can handle crowds on game days. .
The Bears are not asking for public money to build there stadium. They’re only asking for public money for infrastructure and some property tax relief. They’ve already said they will fund the entire $2 billion in stadium costs.
$850 million is a lot of public money for a privately built stadium!
It’s a rip-off, but luckily they can play Illinois off against Indiana. Same playbook as the Chiefs. Same thing the Pats did years ago.
Robert Kraft was going to move the Pats to Hartford and a taxpayer built facility. He was going to build a privately owned stadium himself in Foxboro but just asked the state to pay for infrastructure. The state agreed (Thomas Fineran reneged) and it’s still a nightmare getting in and out of there on gameday. Mass politicians screwed Kraft.
“Illinois is such a political and social mess why wouldn’t the Bears move?”
What does this even mean? Indiana has a slightly higher violent crime rate than Illinois (per Wikipedia’s 2024 stats). Indiana is far worse in Education and slightly worse in poverty. And Hammond is right next door to Gary, one of the most violent cities in America (also, Indianapolis has a higher murder rate than Chicago; but no one ever talks about violent cities in ‘red’ states).
Also, the comment is laughably predicated on the idea that Bears ownership is moving the team for some reason other than lining their own pockets. As if the McCaskey’s are sitting around a conference table and saying, whelp, we’d love to stay in Chicago but we’re unhappy with how they’re underfunding teacher pensions, the lack of environmental justice on the south side’s industrial corridor, and how the CHA is dragging its heels restoring abandoned properties… so let’s get Indiana on the phone!
You seem to not understand that people are calling out the Democrats for playing hardball for political points, and I in particular am calling them out for doing so while doing so much completely unnecessary and politically motivated spending year after year it’s not even funny.
It has nothing to do with partisan politics and everything to do with calling out the people currently running things and treating their taxpayer funds like a piggy bank.
When you reclassify crimes, your numbers tend to go down. The two areas are both pretty awful when it comes to crime, but I think you’re less likely to face riots in Hammond than you are in CHI. I can’t imagine there is actually an argument against the claim that Chicago and Illinois in general, is a political mess. That’s been the case for decades. As someone that left the state because of how dysfunctional it is, I can relate to not wanting to deal with the bs.
I can honestly without one iota of being wrong that whatever you think of Chicago politics right now that if a Daley were in charge of the City right now this deal would have been done 30 years ago. It’s the morons who are running it that really only know how to put the money in their pockets, They never learned the Quid Pro Quo part of it. You know the part where you take some out of your pocket and get things done part.
Wasn’t there a deal done 30 years ago (Soldier Field)? I guess Daley is in charge!
@flamingbagofpoop: “When you reclassify crimes, your numbers tend to go down.”
Bizarre that you think this is a Chicago-specific thing. Also what ‘riots’ are you referring to? Turn off your right-wing propaganda and join us in reality. Protests are not riots and no one is being killed at them. You’re just scared because the media you consume tells you to be.
I’d much rather roll the dice in the Soldier Field area than in a Gary-adjacent place like Hammond.
It’s very clear somebody is consuming a lot of left wing propaganda.
Chicago has most definitely had violent riots in the recent past.
@rct Chicago has had over 10,000 shot and 1000s killed in the last decade. It’s called Chi-raq for a reason. Plus mass shootings, kids shot, car jackings, etc. Don’t forget riots and looting too. Gary and Indy (blue cities) are playgrounds compared to Chicago. 45 shot and killed and 153 shot so far in 2026, and it’s only mid February. Both IL and the city are in huge debt, unfunded pensions, massive interest payments on debts, etc. The city is close to bankruptcy. I’d call all that a mess.
@Plus3: Your entire post here isn’t rooted in reality. Riots and looting… where? The facts are the facts. Gary and Indianpolis are in a red state and are more dangerous. Don’t try to pass the buck and call them ‘blue cities’. The previous Indianpolis mayor was a Republican and it was just as bad when he was mayor. About 20 straight years of Republican governors, too. Why can’t they fix anything? Very easy to just blame every problem you see on Democrats, I guess.
Claiming anywhere in Indiana is more dangerous than Chicago is laughably inaccurate.
@rct Maybe you missed summer of 2020 when businesses shut down because of riots of looting. Over $60M in property damage. Here’s a link.
link to abc7chicago.com
Gary and Indy are blue cities in a red state. BIG difference there. Don’t try to pass the buck and talk about red states, that’s what Dems do!
Wikipedia!! 🤣 credibility in ur debate is lost.
Wikipedia? Credibility in your comment is lost.
Hah! Fundamental misunderstanding of both the city of Chicago and the state of Illinois. No matter the historical reputation of Chicago politics, the city currently runs a multi billion dollar surplus even though their pension debts are some of the countries worst. At the same time Chicago’s economy carries the rest of the state of illinois with roughly 75% of the states total wages being earned by only 60% of the states population in the city of Chicago.
The Bears won’t move out of Illinois because its franchise suicide and the reverberations of such of move would impact their profitability for the next 15 years at least.
Surplus? Where did you get THAT from? The city, county, and state are running large deficits, are paying massive interest on debt, and have a underfunded pensions problem. It doesn’t matter what Chicago carries, they’re broke, and the goofball mayor wanted to literally take out ghetto payday loans for more programs. It’s a house of cards waiting to fall, like Detroit did. Google is full of links about all this. Why would any business want to operate in that situation?
Fans will still watch the games on TV and they’ll fill up the stadium 8x a year. Just like SF and NY teams do. Don’t see how profitability will be a concern, especially now they’re a playoff team.
jk- It’s a real shame the sports teams bring so many dollars to these poor underprivileged cities. Teams pay taxes, employees pay taxes, concession companies pay taxes, the hundreds of thousands of people who go to games stay in hotels, eat at restaurants, which pay taxes. Sports teams can’t impose taxes on fans, but the city can to recoup their investments. It’s not the population of the city or county who pay for the stadium, it’s the people going to the games. Building a stadium is an investment and the cities make back their investment. Try Economics 101, it’s required for freshmen in college, even back in the dark ages when I went. One of the first projects we did was to analyze the viability of a city investing money to build a stadium for a sports team or teams and how and/or how long it would take for their investment to be repaid and/or begin to make money back.
Ah, the good old PFR offseason relocation article!
GARY BEARS
Moving the Bears out of Chicago would be such a mistake
That already seems to be a done deal. It’s between Arlington Heights and Hammond, both of which are about 30 miles from Chicago.
Arlington Heights is a close-in suburb. Hammond is Siberia by comparison.
I’m all for fiscal responsibility but the truth is the Democrats running Illinois could easily find enough money to pay what the Bears are asking just by getting rid of the many completely unnecessary committees and positions that only exist for political reasons or so they can hire their friends. They are notoriously corrupt over spenders.
But they’ll never be held accountable for it because people just think to themselves “Well at least they’re not Republican!”
Ruining, not running…
The crooked republican la have done a whiz bang job of running Illinois into the ground as well. Plenty of republicans former governors have gone to jail. But you know facts.
Yeah, Republicans have certainly run Chicago into the ground genius.
Yeah, I do know facts. Like who’s currently running Illinois.
getting into politics on a sports site is so…awesome.
It’s impossible to not address politics when it comes to stadium funding given that the politicians involved are grandstanding about not doing it.
It’s not even just the funding. The taxes, restrictions, zoning, etc. are also a huge part of the problem with trying to do anything in IL.
You are all for fiscal responsibility but you rag on leadership who has grown the rainy day fund for Chicago from literally $0.00 in 2019 to $2.6B as of Feb 2026?
Of course the current leadership in IL could find the money for the Bears to stay but the reality is they are negotiating so the State doesn’t have to be the ones funding the stadium. This is the financially responsible thing to do versus Gov Mike Brauns efforts where he is over-leveraging his constituency.
Lol okay. Yeah the people spending billions with a b on completely unnecessary politically motivated things are totally fiscally responsible. Right.
Are you really trying to say republicans don’t do the exact same thing? Both parties are filled with self serving ‘I burgers with me sauce’ that always leave office with a lot more money than they went in with. Don’t be naive. They are all feeding off keeping the partisan fires burning hot because it keeps you voting for them again and again… and never even considering any candidate who doesn’t have a D or a R next to their names. It’s the oldest racket there is and this comment section (which only happens to be about the Bears), is another example of it..
Definitely not saying that because I’m not partisan. I’ve literally only ever voted Democrat so the notion that I’d be a Republican is beyond laughable.
I call out political BS and corruption regardless of the side.
The Ghost of Buddy Ryan is not happy!!!
DA Bears are finally becoming good again and an exciting team…..and they are pulling this Cowboy Bull Schiste?
SMH
Some of these goofs need to look at a map. Hammond is a lot closer to the city (and easier to get to) than Arlington Heights. If Pritsker wants to play games, cool, go to Hammond and get exactly what you want.
It’s still and always will be the Chicago Bears. It’s still the New York Giants/Jets… they didn’t change their name to New Jersey.
This move would be better for the team AND the fans. Staying on the lakefront was never a realistic option.
The Meadowlands is basically right across the river from NYC and near multiple major rail lines. It’s not comparable.
I see your point, but I can’t agree. Every team that does this waters down the feeling of having a team represent some place. The NFL is so big that it seems like it can’t fail, but the older generations are really keeping it going. If people don’t get that same sense of attachment going forward, the returns start to decrease, little by little. It does take away from the game over time, in my opinion.
Hammond to downtown CHI and AH to downtown CHI are almost nearly equidistant from each other ya goof.
It’s a marginal difference in terms of actual miles but in terms of socioeconomic situations they are on completely opposite ends of the spectrum. Hammond a dirt poor area with no infrastructure for a franchise like this while AH has all of the infrastructure already built in or in located in neighboring suburbs.
0.00% chance the Bears move to Hammond.
All NFL teams have fanbases that are global now, so from an owners perspective it shouldn’t matter where the stadium is located. 80,000 paying customer is still 80,000 paying customers regardless of geography.
Just saying there is no room in my future rooting for the Indiana Bears. So by all means leave and give the crap state of Indiana 2 football teams while Illinois has none. I’m just way too old to care anymore. Just gives me more free time on the weekends.
The Bears aren’t moving, but theoretically you’ll have the Fighting Illini in college football.
Northwestern is sometimes good.
Pure theatre. Not a chance the Bears leave Illinois.
Similar to what Giant and later Jets fans said about NY.
No one in NY cared about the Giants from the time they left Polo in ‘55 and neither did they about the Jets into the final years of Namath. Both teams were an afterthought sharing locations as second billing and the owners moved them less than 10 miles into East Rutherford which is still smack in the middle of the NY/NJ metro.
As @cubfanforever says, the Bears will never leave Illinois
The more you say that, Fitz… the less inclined I am to believe you. The Bears moving is a very realistic topic.
The New York Football Giants were an NFL power until 1963, fell on hard times with the occasional good season (1970), since then have yo-yo’d between bad and good.
The New York Jets gained their identity in the American Football League. Since the NFL absorbed the AFL the Jets have had periods of mostly bad and mostly good.
Being second billing to baseball was the norm for the NFL into the 1970s. Giants got their own place in 1976. Jets became tenants at Giants Stadium in 1984, tried to build their own stadium on the west side of Manhattan, then decided to collaborate on MetLife Stadium with the Giants.
So it’s not as simplistic as you think.
Not sure why people think this is a big deal. Not much of an impact to fans. Less than 1% of fans actually go to a game. The Super Bowl was just played an hour away from San Francisco, but represented San Francisco.
And even if you attend a Bears game do you really care if the person in the next seat is a native of Chicago or Illinois? If the guy buys you a beer and screams ‘Go Bears’ you probably wouldn’t care if he had flown in from Timbuktu.
Yeah, no one cares until you have those beers in your system after a day of tailgating and football only to realize at 9p on a Sunday that you are in the dump known as Hammond, Indiana.
You certainly don’t care who is sitting next to you at a Bears game when you are sitting at Soldier in the middle of a world class city. But you certainly do care if you have to drive to butthole Indiana on a Sunday
One thing these articles are good at doing is letting goofballs rant about politics.
The Bears can be the 11th team that does not play in the city they are named for.
I guess the Browns and Chiefs will beat them to it.
Perhaps the Browns, but I don’t think that the Chiefs will.
Kansas City is still Kansas City, no matter which state it’s in.
Not in Kansas City Kansas either.
How many players on the Bears roster were even born in Illinois? You basically have players coming from all over the country to represent a team in a particular city but in many cases these players had no first hand knowledge of the city before they arrived.
The Dallas Cowboys do not play in Dallas. They played about 10 miles from downtown Dallas, in Irving, from 1971-2008. In 2009, The Cowboys moved even further to Arlington, about 25 miles away from downtown Dallas.
I think the Bears and their fans could handle the move.
So many more options socially in Chicago than there are in DFW metro. Many residents of Chicago and Illinois will change their habits and no longer be Bears fans if the team is located in Indiana.
Many Chicagoans don’t even have cars so their ability to effectively get to Hammond is severely impacted where everyone in DFW has multiple cars and drive 20+ miles daily.
Ought to just move to Oklahoma, they ain’t got an NFL team or Arkansas……seem team love the ‘we play this stadium thing my way or I’ll take my ball(team) and go to a new home!’
Enjoy these shenanigans
dougdeb. Arrowhead Stadium will be available in a few years!
As a Packers fan the idea of them being in Indiana is hilarious. I don’t care how close to the border it is.
As a sports fan who hates owners/leagues threatening to move (and in some cases, actually moving) for leverage or sweeter deals. F-them. The Bears and any NFL team can afford a new stadium on their own dime. If not, sell to someone who will.
More proof of why the Pritzker family threw out Baby Back from being in the family business. They ALL knew/know that he is a horrendous moron when it comes to actual business intelligence.
No wonder he settled on destroying the state even more than it was before rolled into Springfield.
I actually feel sorry for your lack of general intelligence as you are clearly blinded by weird political leanings.
For facts: Chicago has actually grown a $2.6B rainy day fund from literally $0.00 in 2019 which just so happens to coincide with Pritzker becoming Governor. This while Chicago’s economy carries the rest of the state with over 75% of total wages being generated by only 60% of the states residents. Did Pritzker singlehandedly do this? No. But his policies have certainly helped steer the state in a positive direction while the previous Governor couldn’t pass a state budget for two calendar years of his four in office.
I’ll let you figure out whose party former Governor Rauner was affiliated with as well as the political leanings of the majority of counties outside of Cook.
Politics aside, Chicago carries the State of Illinois to a budget surplus nearly every year.
Talk about being blinded by Political Feelings; Yes…your obvious party has done wonders for Chicago aka The Wild West! Does anyone actually go downtown any longer unarmed?
NONE of what you typed is remotely true.
And like what rocky7 mentioned. “TALK ABOUT BEING BLINDED BY POLITICAL FEELINGS”…
no matter which state “wins” the right to pay the billionaires welfare .. can’t help but wonder how much more it will cost to actually attend a game ? hope fans are starting to create their bears game emergency fund
Would they still be called the Chicago Bears?
Once private equity firm ownership becomes standard in the league all the location designators will vanish. The Chicago Bears could become the Thoma Bravo or Berkshire Bears.
Yea they will still be called the Chicago Bears
The Patriots did the same thing with Connecticut back in the 90s. They used Hartford and the state Governer to get a better deal in Massachusetts, and it worked.
mikedickinson Disagree with your take on the Patriots. Read my earlier post.
Washington Capitals played Virginia to get DC to promise huge upgrades and to actually police the area around the arena which has kept fans away. Odd, police headquarters are just a few blocks away but they did nothing to keep the garbage riff raff away until the team threatened to move.
You’d think those imposing suffocating taxes would realize that it just causes the largest payers of those taxes to leave. But they keep doing it and those people and businesses keep leaving.
wow …. I’m glad to see the Bears saying F U to the local left wing Chicago politicians. Move the team to Indiana where they want you and not to mention a much safer environment for fans and players.
Hah, just in time for them to become a competitive team too!
First, business should be allowed to go wherever they want. Fans can vote with their wallets. Second, taxpayer money to fund anything related should be illegal. See abuse of power of the day ruling which today happens to be trumps illegal tariffs. Using taxpayer money to fund a sports stadium….pack sand.
Third, Oakland was and is a dump, good for raiders for moving. Fans voted with wallets.
Just Imagine if the New York Giants or New York Jets would move out of New York? Or the Washington Commanders would move to someplace like Maryland….No way Our Nation’s capital team could not play in the Capital City!
In essence they would be moving to a Chicago Suburb….just a couple miles from the city line…They won’t change the Team name.
One thing is for sure…this stadium will not be located in the city of Chicago. The kick backs, DEI requirements etc are the same reasons the NY teams built elsewhere. The city of Chicago will have to foot the bill on Soldier Field. They should repurpose the stadium as the home stadium for every Army and Navy game in the future.
How appropriate because you need the military to go in and help keep the criminal element away.
From a packers fan this is gold! We’ve dominated the bears prior to this past season for far too long going all the back to the mid 90’s with Favre I’d say dominating them again in a new stadium in a different state.. lmao would be awesome lol
that’s a long drive from lake Forest to northwest Indiana
It is not like the team meets at Halas Hall game day and takes a team Bus to the game. Lol. This is the NFL not High School
They will have to come up with something new. The pride and joy of Indiana just doesn’t flow.
I just don’t like it Chicago is in Illinois. Im sure Indiana is offering the best deal but it reminds me of the California Angels becoming the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. They need to reduce the boundary your home stadium can be from the city your team calls home.
Oh like the Washington Commanders playing in Maryland? New York Giants playing in New Jersey? New York Jets playing in New Jersey? SF 49’ers playing several hours outside SF? Dallas Cowboys playing in Arlington not Dallas. Even the Raiders do not actually play in Las Vegas.
So are these new rules just for the Bears? Fyi Hammand Ind is like 20 miles from the City. About the same as Arlington Heights
The Indiana Bears. Kind of rolls off the tongue doesn’t it? Nah, I didn’t so either. LOL