The ‘Gary Bears’ has a nice ring to it
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Fingers crossed.
The Chicago Bears are considering a move to northwest Indiana amid growing concerns that Illinois lawmakers will not approve the financial incentives needed to build a new stadium in Arlington Heights, a top team official told the Tribune.
In an exclusive interview, Bears President and CEO Kevin Warren confirmed the possibility of crossing state lines, but said the organization also would consider sites in other parts of Illinois. A letter to season ticket holders Wednesday outlined plans to look elsewhere, too, adding more fodder to the ongoing political debate over the franchise’s future and renewing an old threat to leave the state if the team doesn’t get its needs met.
“We’re looking at opportunities that may exist in the Chicagoland area including northwest Indiana,” Warren said. “We still believe that Arlington Park is the most viable location in Cook County, but now we’re putting everything back on the table and exploring all options.”
The news comes after Indiana lawmakers earlier this year created the Northwest Indiana Professional Sports Development Commission to attract a major sports organization such as the Bears..
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/12/17/chicago-bears-stadium-northwest-indiana/
(Insert happydance here)
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Don’t let them fool you. Football stadiums operate at a huge loss and don’t generate much revenue.
Ohio got suckered - now for the second time. If the Browns want a new stadium they can do it with private money like Los Angeles did.
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Don’t let them fool you. Football stadiums operate at a huge loss and don’t generate much revenue.
Ohio got suckered - now for the second time. If the Browns want a new stadium they can do it with private money like Los Angeles did.
@Steve-Miller said in The ‘Gary Bears’ has a nice ring to it:
Don’t let them fool you. Football stadiums operate at a huge loss and don’t generate much revenue
No kidding. Which is why I've been against the Bears moving here since they bought Arlington Park. But our Village Board has bought the story hook, line, and sinker.
I just want them to go anywhere else, preferably to another state.
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The 'Hammond Bears' sounds good, too.
The Chicago Bears have taken a big step forward in finding a new site for their stadium, and that momentum is moving fast toward Northwest Indiana.
On Thursday morning, Indiana lawmakers in the state House Ways and Means Committee unanimously approved an amendment to Indiana Senate Bill 27 that would pave the way for the Bears to move to Hammond. The proposal would create a Northwest Indiana Stadium Authority with the power to issue bonds, acquire land, and finance construction.
Just minutes later, Indiana House Speaker Todd Huston announced the Bears would commit $2 billion toward a proposed stadium project near Wolf Lake in Northwest Indiana.
All this comes just over a week before Indiana lawmakers plan to adjourn for the year.
https://www.cbsnews.com/chicago/news/illinois-hearing-bears-stadium-canceled-hammond-indiana/
Gawd, I hope they move anywhere but to my town. Better still, out of Illinois.
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the mockups of the hammond location on wolf lake by the illinois/indiana state line are pretty funny if you know the reality of the area.
There's another proposed site near me, in Portage, Indiana, about 10 miles into the Indiana Dunes National Park, that is literally across a boat channel from Cleveland Cliffs steel mill -- one of the most god-awful stinky mills I've ever seen.
Good luck with that proposal. They'd have to shut down the mill if winds were out of the NNE.
The portage location is accessible by the south shore railroad commuter line though.... goes right by it.
