Illinois & Indiana back-and-forth continues with visit to Hammond as Bears' stadium decision looms

Bears' officials visit Hammond as stadium decision looms

On Friday, the Bears met with representatives at the Lost Marsh Golf Club in Hammond as the back-and-forth continues.

Nearly two years ago, the Chicago Bears committed to rebuilding Soldier Field.

The $5 billion plan included a state-of-the-art stadium, widened Lake Shore Drive roads and more. Since then, the Bears pivoted to Arlington Heights and eventually opened the possibility of Hammond, Indiana. The back-and-forth continues.

Bears President and CEO Kevin Warren said late springtime and early summer is the team's new timeline for deciding on a new home. Without a deal on the table, the back-and-forth continues, with politicians in both Indiana and Illinois trying to land the Bears by the end of that timeline.

What we know:

The Bears are the ones who make the call on where their next stadium will be. It'll either be in Arlington Heights, Illinois, or Hammond, Indiana.

On Friday, the Bears met with representatives at the Lost Marsh Golf Club in Hammond. That club is near where the Bears would build if they decide to move to Indiana.

"We continue to work together with Indiana leaders on our commitment to finish the necessary due diligence work for the Hammond site," the Bears wrote in a statement to FOX 32. "The meeting today was another positive step in that process."

However, Illinois could take a massive step in the right direction to get a deal on the table for the Bears.

Illinois State Representative Kam Buckner said on 104.3 The Score Friday he thinks "We'll have some good news in very short order" on the Bears' potential deal to move to Arlington Heights.

The House is in session Tuesday through Thursday next week. The House will be back in session May 5 after that, but Buckner is expecting a vote to approve the Mega Projects bill the Bears are vying for in order to build on Arlington Heights. That bill would allow developers to freeze property tax assessments for up to 40 years and negotiate a PILOT, or "payment in lieu of taxes," for projects costing $500 million or more.

"I am more convinced than ever that the Bears will be building their new stadium in Arlington Heights," he said on The Score.

What's next:

The Bears won't make a move until they have a move to consider. The top decision makers were adamant of this during the NFL Owners' Meetings last month.

"The fact of the matter is, we don’t have a deal to consider right now," Bears chairman George McCaskey said.

However, the Chicago Tribune reported the league has called a meeting with the Bears during the week of April 27. The main objective is to get an update on where the team's stadium efforts are. That meeting might happen without a deal on the table for either location. 

When the Bears eventually do get a deal to consider, it will be decision time.

Until then, the back-and-forth will continue. It remains to be seen if a meeting with the NFL after the draft speeds up that process in any way.