Chicago Bears 'committed' to final steps in move to Indiana

The Chicago Bears could become the Hammond Bears, as the specifics of a multi-billion-dollar deal to incentivize the football franchise to move to Indiana are finalized. 

Lawmakers unanimously passed a bill out of committee to create a stadium finance authority in charge of acquiring land and financing the construction of facilities. 

House Speaker Todd Huston (R-Fishers) made a rare appearance in the Ways and Means Committee to discuss the legislation, which he said would be “transformational” for Northwest Indiana. 

“We've had excellent conversations with the Chicago Bears, and we're forging a relationship that will be the foundation of a public-private partnership leading to the construction of a world-class stadium,” Huston told the committee. 

Governor Mike Braun released a statement saying that a promising location for the new site had been identified in Hammond along Wolf Lake. 

“Our pro-growth environment continues to attract major opportunities like this partnership with the Chicago Bears,” Braun’s statement read.

The Bears, meanwhile, released a statement of their own, which Huston read aloud to the committee. 

“The passage of Senate Bill 27 would mark the most meaningful step forward in our stadium planning efforts to date. We are committed to finishing the remaining site-specific necessary due diligence to support our vision to build a world-class stadium near the Wolf Lake area in Hammond, Indiana,” Huston read. 

The deal involves a roughly $2-billion dollar agreement from the Chicago Bears, according to Huston. Indiana is expected to put forward roughly $1-billion towards the deal, according to Hammond Mayor Thomas McDermott. Besides a stadium, the package includes tax incentives for hotels and infrastructure. 

Other northwest Indiana cities including Gary and Portage had expressed interest in welcoming the Bears. Hammond Mayor Thomas McDermott said ultimately, it seemed the Bears were really interested in a move there. 

“You may want to date Taylor Swift, but if Taylor Swift doesn’t want to date you that’s really the important part,” he said. “If other cities wanted the Bears to move there, the Bears have to want to move there first, and the Bears were only interested in Hammond.”

But the deal may not be as firm as Indiana lawmakers have made it sound.

Illinois Governor JB Pritzker was asked about the Bears’ statement during a press event in Collinsville. He said the state had had a productive conversation with Bears management and thought things were moving forward.

“It was a surprise to us,” Pritzker said about the Bears’ statement. “Now they are saying to us that the statement is not some confirmation that they are moving to Indiana, but rather that Indiana has asked them to say that they are going to move forward with negotiations in Indiana. But I have to say it’s very disappointing.”
 

Details on the deal

Huston touted the investment as the “catalyst” for growth across the entire Northwest Indiana corridor. He said work still needs to be done to bring the project to fruition, but there was shared commitment to make it happen. 

According to the House Speaker, the funding mechanism would look similar to how the state had worked to fund the Lucas Oil Stadium for the Colts. The deal would issue bonds to help build the stadium that would be paid back by an event admissions tax levied by the city of Hammond. 

The state is also asking Lake County and Porter County to adopt a 1% food and beverage tax to help repay the cost of building new roads, as well as a 5% innkeepers tax from Lake County. 

“We’ve been very careful and cautious as we’ve forecasted this,” Huston said. “We want to give everyone comfort that this deal pencils out to be a great one for Northwest Indiana and the state.”

Economists have long questioned whether stadiums are a good economic investment, but state lawmakers say the state has been good at developing financial plans that don’t hurt taxpayers.

The Bears' current lease doesn’t end until 2033, and there is still roughly half a billion dollars in debt owed on their current facility, according to reporting from CBS.

Asked whether he had concerns about Hoosiers being stuck with debt down the road, Huston said it wasn’t a concern. 

“I wouldn’t see that to be the case,” he said. 

Mayor McDermott was similarly optimistic about the economic prospects of a new stadium. 

“I hear people all the time say ‘these stadiums don’t bring anything to the host community,’ and I guess it depends on your perspective,” he said. “In Hammond, we don’t have Ruth’s Chris, we don’t have high-rise hotels, this stadium is going to bring all that.” 

Asked whether the Bears might still pull out of the deal, McDermott said he didn’t think so. 

“Indiana’s got the best offer on the table, the best business environment,” he said. “Why would the Bears walk away from a better deal?”

Contact Government Reporter Benjamin Thorp at bthorp@wfyi.org