Indiana Gov. Mike Braun said Wednesday he is optimistic the Chicago Bears will move to Hammond, telling a local television interview that the Northwest Indiana city could soon become the team’s new home. Braun said he expects the Bears to finish their due diligence on the site near Wolf Lake soon and that an announcement could come in three or four weeks.
“Dare I say there might be a good, better, best stadium construction in Hammond,” Braun said. “Just saying.” He added that Indiana can offer the team more value for the money: “You'll get a lot more stadium for the amount of money you invest. And with the vitality and business atmosphere of what you can get coming into Hammond,” Braun said, before drawing a contrast with the pace of government decision-making. “So often you get entangled where government is involved. Speed is not a word you associate with it.”
The comments came just over a week after state lawmakers in Indiana passed legislation in late February to make room for a new Bears stadium in Hammond. They also followed remarks Tuesday from NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, who said at league meetings that the Bears are looking at only two stadium sites: Hammond and Arlington Heights. The team has been weighing both locations as it seeks a path forward for a major new venue.
Hammond has become a serious possibility because Indiana has moved quickly. Braun said the McCaskeys, the family that owns the Bears, have visited the governor’s mansion in Indianapolis on several occasions, and he has been pitching the state’s AAA credit rating as a selling point. That pitch is now colliding with a stalled political fight in Illinois, where lawmakers were still weighing a mega-projects bill when the piece was published. The Bears say that measure is essential if they are to stay in Illinois, while the separate Arlington Heights plan faces opposition from Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and some lawmakers.
Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker has urged supporters of the measure to keep pushing, saying, “I'm hopeful that the people who want to tank the bill are not successful.” A major hurdle remains in the Illinois Senate, which had not yet voted on the proposal when the article was published. Jim Tinaglia, who backs the project, put the stakes in blunt terms: “If it doesn't happen... it will be a very dark day for Illinois, and I think that the Bears will be really, really challenged with staying in Illinois,” he said.
For now, Hammond is the place where speed, money and political will appear to be lining up. If the Bears are going to leave Chicago-area stalemate behind, the next few weeks will show whether Indiana’s early move was enough to win the team’s favor.
