After the Bears season ends, effort for new stadium deal heats up
After the Bears season ends, effort for new stadium deal heats up
The quest for a new stadium for the Chicago Bears will take center stage over the next several weeks between Illinois and Indiana officials.
CHICAGO - After the dramatic Divisional Round loss, the quest for a new stadium for the Chicago Bears is taking center stage.
Indiana lawmakers have made major moves in the past week to try and get the team to move across state lines.
What we know:
While it seemed team management was focused on the game Sunday night, Bears Chairman George McCasky and President Kevin Warren were photographed with Illinois House Speaker Emanuel "Chris" Welch while taking in the game.
After the dramatic Divisional Round loss, the quest for a new stadium for the Chicago Bears is taking center stage. While it seemed team management was focused on the game Sunday night, Bears Chairman George McCasky and President Kevin Warren were ph (Speaker Emanuel "Chris" Welch via X)
Now, interestingly, Welch has stonewalled the Bears’ desire for legislation to help them get started on a stadium in suburban Arlington Heights.
Last week, Indiana made its move, proposing legislation that would publicly finance and give the state ownership of a Bears stadium in the northwest corner of the Hoosier State. The Bears would avoid any property taxes. They would pay rent to the state of Indiana, with the ability to eventually own the stadium when the debt is paid off.
Then on Friday, Gary Mayor Eddie Melton unveiled proposals for three sites in his town, near the Hard Rock Casino, near the Gary Chicago Airport, and around Miller Beach. The Bears have also been focused on a site next to Wolf Lake, right across the border in Hammond.
Arlington Heights, of course, is still in play. The Bears are still looking for legislation that would give them the ability to negotiate future property tax rates with the village. The team said it needs this certainty to attract investors to help finance the stadium, and they're going to pay taxes and own this stadium outright in Arlington Heights. While they’d pay for the entire building, they would rely on the state for infrastructure funding.
Late last week, Arlington Heights Mayor James Tinaglia has said he's all in for giving the Bears the ability to negotiate, and he wants lawmakers to take action now.
"These are numbers that are not marketable," he said. "They could never finance a project like that. And then if anything were to happen, they could never sell it. There's no buyer for that. So the number has to be tolerable. Just like you would not design your own home or your own office building, knowing that your tax bill is gonna be out of control, you'll back off and either cancel the project or redesign something smaller. They don't have a choice to redesign something smaller, but they could leave the state."
What's next:
As for what’s next, Indiana's legislative session is underway and will end next month. There might be a proposal and rapid movement in the coming days or weeks.
The question is, do Illinois lawmakers feel the heat? Gov. JB Pritzker and others seem to have moderated their tone in recent weeks as they head to Springfield to start their legislative session this month.
It could make for a lot of movement in the coming days and weeks.