Illinois lawmakers, as of now, cannot match an Indiana stadium financing package.
For the ownership of the National Football League’s Chicago Bears franchise, the stadium game has gone into overtime. An Indiana stadium financial package appears to be the stronger team against the Illinois financial package which is much weaker as there is no Illinois financial package yet. Illinois lawmakers failed to come up with an Arlington Heights, Illinois stadium-village property tax break for Bears ownership as time ran out on the clock with the Illinois legislative session ending at 11:59 p.m. on May 31st. The Senate had a package but the Illinois House didn’t but that does not mean a stadium financial deal in Illinois is dead. The legislature can be called into an overtime session.
Indiana Governor Mike Braun has signed a bill creating a path to building a football stadium-village in Hammond. Hammond is about 30 miles south of Chicago. An Indiana stadium finance authority could authorize taxes on football tickets, hotel rooms, restaurants and tolls to raise money to help build the public-owned stadium. Bears’ ownership would retain all game, concert and event-related revenue. The Bears would play rent-free for at least 30 years with the option to purchase the stadium for a dollar after 40 years. The Bears ownership’s Arlington Heights’ stadium-village plan was first revealed in 2023. The Bears’ ownership bought the Arlington Park racetrack property in the Chicago suburb of Arlington Heights in February 2023 for $197 million. Bears’ ownership was set to build a stadium-village in town but then came the property tax bill. Last fall, the CEO of the Bears franchise Kevin Warren told his customers it’s Arlington Heights time. The business has to leave Chicago and set up shop in a small Chicago suburb. But there was no financial plan at the time and there still is no Illinois financial plan. The stadium game continues.
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