Why Iowa lawmakers are entering the fray to land the Chicago Bears: 'Why not us?'
Preckwinkle, Reilly weigh in on Cook County role in Bears stadium deal
Bears stadium deal: Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle and Ald. Brendan Reilly respond to questions about whether Cook County would support a stadium in Arlington Heights with infrastructure or other public spending. Preckwinkle says she would back a deal if Gov. Pritzker does, while Reilly says losing the Bears to Indiana would be "horrendous."
The state of Illinois and the Chicago Bears have continued their negotiations for a new stadium. Indiana joined the pursuit of the Bears, too, offering their own sets of proposals and sites for a new stadium.
Last week, Iowa officially joined the mix.
With Senate File 2252, State Senators in the Hawkeye State see an opportunity to expand an already-existing developmental program to include incentivizing the building of an NFL stadium in Iowa.
Iowa State Sen. Mike Bousselot, one of the sponsors of the bill, pointed to the opportunity that arose because of the uncertainty that has arisen because of how the Bears have yet to officially decide on a new home stadium.
"This gets Iowa in the game," Bousselot told FOX 32.
What they're saying:
The Bears have been in Illinois since 1920. That's when the Bears were the Decatur Staleys. They’ve been at Soldier Field since 1971.
Now, the Bears are looking for a place where they can build their new home. First, the team purchased Arlington Park in Arlington Heights, then unveiled a plan to renovate Soldier Field and its surrounding campus before focusing back on Arlington Heights. Since then, the Bears have widened their search for Northwest Indiana.
This is where Iowa lawmakers saw the opportunity as the franchise and Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker continue negotiating.
"Certainly, the Bears prompted it and the state of Illinois prompted it," Bousselot said. "Governor Pritzker and the state of Illinois have waffled on supporting the Chicago Bears. The state of Indiana took action to get into that conversation. The state of Iowa said, ‘Hey, why not us?’"
Indiana’s stadium proposal to the Bears differs in that it would authorize a public stadium authority to finance all or part of the stadium, with the Bears paying rent. This is a significant difference from what Illinois’ proposals to the Bears are.
Iowa doesn’t have a proposal to send to the Bears. Bousselot said he hasn’t had any discussions with Bears CEO Kevin Warren, who is spearheading the search for a new stadium, about moving the Bears to Iowa.
Once Senate File 2252 makes its way through the legislative process, Iowa lawmakers will have an idea of what they can bring to the table.
In the legislative process, though, Bousselot said the biggest motivator for the Iowa lawmakers was the potential economic development that comes with having an NFL team.
Those lawmakers are Council Bluffs’ Dan Dawson, Walcott’s Kerry Gruenhagen, Williamsburg’s Dawn Driscoll, Bettendorf’s Scott Webster, Bousselot, who represents Ankeney, Ottumwa’s Cherielynn Westrich and Dyersville’s Carrie Koelker. They are the seven state senators who sponsored the legislation.
"It's a group of senators who look at it and who've been a part of cutting taxes and making Iowa a great state for economic development and said, why not?" Bousselot said.
Iowa has had conversations about pulling sports teams recently, especially after the support the state has shown for women’s basketball and Iowa Hawkeye football.
What spurs the senators to enter the Bears conversation is how NFL team movement has been consistent recently.
"There's great love of sports here, and there's been conversations about WNBA teams," Bousselot said. "When you see an opportunity on the NFL side, the amount of economic impact that the Chicago Bears or NFL organizations make is enormous. Look at what the Kansas City Chiefs are doing, for example, and moving to Kansas and Kansas and their legislature got involved in that to help bring that investment to Kansas."
Bears, Illinois lawmakers closer on stadium deal: sources
The Chicago Bears and Illinois lawmakers are close to agreement on key issues that would keep the team in-state and help kickstart an Arlington Heights stadium project, according to multiple sources close to the talks.
Big picture view:
The bill has passed out of subcommittee, and Bousselot said it should continue to pass further through the legislative process this week.
Whether Iowa emerges as a serious contender to land a new stadium for the Bears is firmly in the Bears’ hands.
"We’re in consistent conversation with the Chicago Bears," Pritzker said to reporters on Feb. 9. "The most important point I would make is we’re not going to do anything that’s bad for the taxpayers."
The team has to decide if they want to hear the pitch Iowa lawmakers have.
What Bousselot wants Bears fans to understand is how Iowa is a Bears-heavy state. Bousselot is a Rock Island, Illinois, native before he moved to Iowa and began representing Iowans. The Bears wouldn’t be moving to unfamiliar territory.
"We love the Chicago Bears," Bousselot said. "We're very close in terms of, obviously, adjacent in proximity, a ton of Bears fans and NFL fans, and we've got the business and economic environment that would be beneficial to the organization, to the players and to the staff and to for great investment."