Illinois is still in the game.
If you listen to the Indiana Governor Mike Braun, his state is getting closer to help fund a stadium-village for the National Football League’s Chicago Bears franchise owners. “I think we’re in the red zone,” said Braun. “In real estate, like I told you before, you don’t count it as a done deal until you ink. This is probably the most important place we’ve been to date, and it takes a lot of the uncertainty out of it. It doesn’t mean there isn’t some left, but hey, we got to this point.” Exactly where is that point? To use a football term, perhaps it is first down and ten yards to go on the opponent’s 19 years line. Maybe it is closer to a touchdown but there is a long way to go. Before the Fourth of July holiday weekend, Bears ownership put out a statement that it would “advance stadium development project in Hammond.” But, Bears’ ownership has not totally committed to Indiana. It is still waiting for that final, final, final offer from Illinois that would allow Bears’ ownership to set up shop in Arlington Heights, Illinois, a Chicago suburb to the north. Hammond, Indiana is about 30 miles to the south of downtown Chicago.
Does Bears’ ownership really want to move to Hammond? It is a very hard question to answer. There is an Indiana financial plan in place for the Bears ownership. There is no financial plan in Illinois at the moment. Bears’ ownership bought the Arlington Park racetrack property in the Chicago suburb in February 2023 for $197 million. Bears’ ownership was set to build a stadium-village in town but then came the property tax bill. Bears’ ownership was alarmed. Bears’ ownership began looking in Illinois for a spot for a stadium-village when Indiana jumped into the stadium game.
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