Bears stadium saga echoes 1990s as NFL commissioner gets involved in Illinois talks

CHICAGO - NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell confirmed with reporters Wednesday outside the league owners' meetings in Atlanta that Illinois is not out of the running when it comes to building a new stadium for the Chicago Bears.

Illinois still in the running for new Bears stadium

The backstory:

Two weeks ago, Bears President and CEO Kevin Warren said the team's focus was firmly across state lines.

"We as a Chicago Bears board voted to focus our attention on advancing our stadium project in Hammond, Indiana," said Warren. "In addition to assembling land that's needed to build a world-class stadium project and also mixed used development, working on the finance and the capital stack required to bring this project to life."

Warren also said the team needs to move with urgency because stadium construction costs are increasing by about $150 million a year.

"We have a family who have committed sizable resources, $2 billion out of their personal money, out of their organization, to build this stadium, so that's why it's really important from a time standpoint where we're reaching that point where we have to make a determination and decision," said Warren. "The longer this goes on, it creates complications just from a building, operation, design standpoint."

But Warren's message came with a caveat: The Bears need to be patient and make sure they get the decision right before breaking ground. That comes as the NFL has become increasingly involved in the stadium debate.

Goodell said there is no specific timetable for a decision and that both Indiana and Illinois should have an opportunity to put their best foot forward. Goodell also confirmed he has been talking with Illinois officials.

Governor J.B. Pritzker separately confirmed he has spoken with Goodell and said his goal is to do everything possible to keep the Bears in Illinois and why he wants to make sure state lawmakers are speaking with Goodell and the Bears.

"I've not had the sense that Commissioner Goodell has a dog in the hunt, as they say, or a place for the Bears," said Pritzker. "I think what he's trying to do is get the best outcome for the Bears, and so if he's talking to legislators and talking to me, he's not doing it without the Bears understanding that he's having those conversations."

For Illinois, that could mean keeping the team in Arlington Heights, where the Bears already own the former Arlington Park property, on 326 acres of land they purchased for $197.2 million.

A trip back to 1995

Fox Chicago is revisiting archival footage from November 1995, when the Bears were also looking outside Chicago for a new stadium. At the time, the proposed destination was Gary, Indiana.

The project was known as Planet Park and envisioned a 75,000-seat stadium surrounded by retail, hotels and restaurants.

Then-Bears Vice President of Operations, and future team president Ted Phillips was pushing Planet Park to our sports team and former Bears players and analysts during a pre-game show on November 19, 1995.

"What the Indiana proposal gives us is a state-of-the-art stadium, which will have no compromises in terms of the amenities to the fans, and we believe that the revenue streams that could be generated by a stadium like that would be more than adequate and a lot more beneficial to the Bears than a renovation proposal, but we haven't made our decision yet by any means," said Phillips.

But even then, there was another familiar question:

Who was going to pay for it?

The 1995 proposal relied on tax increases to help finance the project. Lake County officials ultimately rejected the plan. Three decades later, the financing question remains at the center of the Bears' stadium debate.

The current Hammond proposal calls for potential increases in hotel, food and beverage taxes in Lake and Porter counties, along with a potential ticket tax in Hammond. Those taxes have not yet been enacted, and the Bears have not finalized exactly where in Hammond they would build.

History repeating itself?

Longtime Fox Chicago reporter Dane Placko covered the Bears' stadium saga in the 1990s. Looking back at the Planet Park story, Placko says the similarities to today's fight are striking.

"If you just changed a couple of the names and a couple of the dates, you could actually run the script that I used 30 years ago today," said Placko. "But when you introduce the element of who's gonna pay for it… that changed their minds pretty quickly. I think we're seeing a little bit of that in Indiana right now, people having some realization that this is not going to be a free project."

Placko says he felt the Bears were seriously exploring northwest Indiana in the 1990s, but the threat of leaving Chicago also gave the team leverage in negotiations with Illinois and the city. The Bears ultimately stayed in Chicago, with the stadium fight helping lead to the renovation of Soldier Field. Placko says that renovation ultimately left many people unhappy with the result.

The same question remains

In 1995, Bears officials were talking about a new stadium while insisting a final decision had not been made. In 2026, Warren is making a similar argument.

The Bears say they are focused on Hammond and need to move quickly, but Warren has also stressed the importance of patience.

The difference this time is the NFL commissioner is publicly involved.

Placko says that's significant.

"I think the bottom line you have to remember, whether it was the story 30 years ago or the story today, is that they're the Chicago Bears. They want to stay in Illinois. I think they are using northwest Indiana to try to get some things from the project in Arlington Heights. They own the property in Arlington Heights. It makes all the sense in the world. And the truth of the matter is, it seems to me, having covered this story for decades, is they wanted to go to northwest Indiana, they'd be there already. I mean, they had their chance 30 years ago, and it didn't work out," said Placko.

What We Don't Know

The biggest unanswered question is where the Bears will ultimately build.

Warren says Hammond is the team's focus, but the Bears have not announced a final site or completed all the financing necessary to begin construction. During a press conference on August 13, Warren said the Lost Marsh site is viable and they're currently exploring possibilities with the Wolf Lake Terminals site. Warren also indicated the Bears were exploring the possibility of combining the two sites into their stadium development project.

It's also unclear exactly what Illinois would need to offer to convince the Bears to stay. The team has said they're looking for property tax certainty and help from the state to pay for infrastructure around their stadium.

Pritzker says lawmakers have already passed separate proposals and that he wants them combined into legislation that protects Illinois taxpayers while keeping the Bears in the state.

Meanwhile, Goodell says both Illinois and Indiana should have the chance to put their best proposals forward.

That suggests the Bears' options remain open, even as the team publicly emphasizes Hammond.

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