The Bears supposedly have narrowed their focus for the site of a new stadium to Arlington Heights and Hammond, Indiana. Chicago continues to believe it’s in play for the new domed stadium the team covets.
“There’s no plan in Hammond,” Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson said Tuesday, via the Chicago Sun-Times. “There’s none of that in the suburbs. We are already further along than any other site that might even be considered.”
Johnson also made a somewhat stunning claim that Chicago and the Bears are quietly moving toward an agreement.
“Not only did we have a publicly owned stadium that expanded green space, we were moving forward with conversations around the terms of an agreement,” Johnson said. “That’s been ongoing, and the hope is that Springfield, after what they’ve done in this last session, that Springfield engages with the Bears, with the city and all stakeholders collectively, to come up with a . . . plan that shows the viability of what we’ve already put forward.”
Johnson is a firm believer in the viability of Chicago as the location for the team’s new stadium.
"[T]here’s no comparison,” Johnson said. “There’s no traffic study in Arlington Heights. There’s no environmental study in Hammond. There are no terms of agreement.”
Although a dome would remove the elements from the equation for Bears games, it seems to be a given that the new stadium will have a roof. Regardless, the Bears belong in Chicago. Here’s hoping that’s how this saga ends.
The Bengals and Bears will hold a joint practice ahead of their Aug. 22 preseason game at Paycor Stadium.
The teams will work together on Thursday, Aug. 20, marking the second time in three seasons the Bengals and Bears have practiced against each other.
Bears coach Ben Johnson and Bengals coach Zac Taylor have a close friendship dating to the 2012 season when they worked together on the Dolphins staff.
“It’s very easy,” Taylor said when asked if his friendship with Johnson affects the scheduling, via Jay Morrison of SI.com. “He’s been great. So he and I will iron that out over the next couple of days, but they’ll come here.”
The teams last practiced together in 2024, when rain marred the day. Two Bengals players were lost for the season with knee injuries, as running back Chris Evans and offensive tackle D’Ante Smith tore a patellar tendon.
The Bears are where we thought they were — still deciding between Indiana and Illinois as the location of a new stadium.
Now that the Illinois legislature has blown the window on passing a bill that would help finance a new facility in Arlington Heights, the only viable option (based on what the Bears have previously said) is Hammond, Indiana.
Hammond Mayor Thomas McDermott believes the Bears will make a decision by the end of June. He also believes the Bears will pick a move across the border.
“Indiana did what they were asked to do. Illinois couldn’t do what they were asked to do. So I’m confident the Bears are going to choose Hammond,” McDermott said, via Dan Carden of the Northwest Indiana Times.
Why is McDermott so confident?
“I think we have a great offer on the table,” McDermott said. “We’re going to offer a superior fan experience. It’s going to be an awesome stadium in an awesome location. But the Bears have to huddle and make the determination now whether or not they’re going to make the move to Indiana. In 30 days, we should have an answer.”
If an answer is coming in 30 days, Hammond is the clear favorite — unless the Bears have decided to build a stadium in Arlington Heights without any direct or indirect tax benefits or incentives.
If it lingers, Illinois remains in play. And Chicago could still be in play. An item from the editorial board of the Chicago Tribune calls the current situation a “big, fat L for the Bears, which overplayed its hand and mismanaged the entire process, squandering all kinds of good will in the process.”
It remains to be seen whether there’s a method to the apparent madness from the Monsters of the Midway. Or whether it’s just plain madness.
Until then, Soldier Field will continue to be the team’s home. For those who love tradition and football in the elements, the longer it takes to change that, the better.
The Illinois legislature failed to pass a measure that would keep the Bears in the state. The door is now open for the Bears to exit for Indiana.
“The reality is that I wasn’t willing to give up billions of dollars of taxpayer money in order to give it to a billionaire-owned family, or team, and believe very much that the incentives that we provide for businesses are to be similar to the incentives we provide to this type of business,” Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker said Monday, via Mitchell Armentrout of the Chicago Sun-Times.
“As much of an emotional connection as many of us have to the Bears, and to keeping them in the city of Chicago and the state of Illinois, [the] No. 1 principle is we’re not going to foist this on the taxpayers of the state of Illinois.”
If the Bears leave for Indiana, that will be foisted onto Pritzker’s permanent record.
There’s a chance that Indiana was and is a bluff. The fact that the Bears said they’re evaluating options in Arlington Heights and Indiana when there is no current option in Arlington Heights suggests that Indiana is all about leverage.
If it is, it isn’t working.
With the Illinois legislature ending its spring session without passing a bill that would lay the foundation for the Bears to build a new stadium at their in-state preference of Arlington Heights, Chicago sees an opening. And Chicago is trying to seize it.
Mayor Brandon Johnson has issued a statement that makes the case for the Bears to stay in Chicago.
“Chicago continues to offer the strongest opportunity to retain the Bears,” Johnson said. “We have a publicly owned site the team has already vetted and approved, an existing sports authority with a dedicated revenue stream, and a framework for moving a deal forward. . . . I look forward to continuing to work with all stakeholders to pursue a deal that keeps the [Bears] while protecting property taxpayers.”
The Bears repeatedly have said that their options are Arlington Heights and Hammond, Indiana. Unless and until an option materializes in Arlington Heights, and with the Indiana location seemingly nothing more than leverage to get a stadium in Illinois, maybe there’s a path for the Bears to stay in Chicago.
Where they belong.
