The ‘Gary Bears’ has a nice ring to it
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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.
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THEY'RE MOVING TO HAMMOND!!!!
The Bears’ Board of Directors voted Thursday to advance the stadium development in Hammond, Indiana, with the exact to be selected. This is this first time that the Bears’ board has voted on any stadium site.
As one source said, “There is more work to do but barring anything very strange, it’s a done deal.”
Much rejoicing and happy dancing in the wtg house....
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Research by economists generally shows that publicly financed stadiums are not a good deal for taxpayers.
I have yet to understand why taxpayers should be subject to extortion by sports organizations.
Research by economists generally shows that publicly financed stadiums are not a good deal for taxpayers.
I have yet to understand why taxpayers should be subject to extortion by sports organizations.
100%. The taxpayers in Tampa were put through the wringer again and again when I was growing up. The only thing that's changed in this metro is the teams' extortion demands get more lavish and outrageous with every new stadium.
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We are about a 20 minute walk from the current stadium. It gets busy when the Bears are in town so locals learn how to either dodge the crowds or join 'em. The stadium also gets used for concerts and soccer matches (until the new soccer stadium is finished. They just started on that - yup, still in the neighborhood!)
There is a Pokemon Go festival this weekend in the park - summertime is always busy around here! -
The traffic is one reason we're not keen to see them move here; we live in the burbs because we aren't fans of crowds. And the disruption in terms of infrastructure improvements will be a nightmare.
Mostly, though, we don't want our taxes to go up just to make the Halases and the McCaskeys richer.
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Bears announced a few days ago they're continuing their focus on Hammond. Fingers still crossed.
From a prof at Ball State University. Guess some Hoosiers don't want the Bears to move there any more than some of us Illinoisans want them to stay here.
https://indianacapitalchronicle.com/2026/07/20/lets-hope-the-chicago-bears-stay-in-illinois/
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The Bears were home for a pre-season game yesterday - along with the Cubs in town, the Air and Water show and the Printers Row art fest just a few blocks from us. The rain changed some events, but it is another busy weekend!
(I treat all the news about the Bears as posturing and "chess moves" in the game of "who pays for what?".)
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Bears announced a few days ago they're continuing their focus on Hammond. Fingers still crossed.
From a prof at Ball State University. Guess some Hoosiers don't want the Bears to move there any more than some of us Illinoisans want them to stay here.
https://indianacapitalchronicle.com/2026/07/20/lets-hope-the-chicago-bears-stay-in-illinois/
Bears announced a few days ago they're continuing their focus on Hammond. Fingers still crossed.
From a prof at Ball State University. Guess some Hoosiers don't want the Bears to move there any more than some of us Illinoisans want them to stay here.
https://indianacapitalchronicle.com/2026/07/20/lets-hope-the-chicago-bears-stay-in-illinois/
He's just mad because he has to live in Muncie. Not that I blame him.
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