Hammond Bears? Team says Indiana site near Wolf Lake is now their main stadium focus

The Hammond Bears?

Indiana state legislators sure seem to think that’s where Chicago’s football team is headed after taking another legislative step toward the state border Thursday, though the Bears stopped short of committing to pulling up stakes from Illinois.

An Indiana House committee unanimously advanced legislation creating a stadium finance authority that would help the team build a dome in northwest Indiana, a move that the team called “the most meaningful step forward” in a gridiron saga that has stretched on for more than three years.

But it was also the latest step taken by the Bears to frustrate Illinois officials who had signaled optimism at reaching a deal paving their way to Arlington Heights — a destination that Gov. JB Pritzker and other Illinois Democrats say remains within reach.

Indiana House Speaker Todd Huston previously said he wouldn’t call a vote on the Bears legislation that passed the state Senate last month unless the team committed to making the eastward move.

Huston apparently heard enough to bring it to his chamber’s Ways and Means Committee, which passed the measure 24-0 during a jovial hearing that saw some officials, including Hammond Mayor Thomas McDermott, choke up at the prospect of landing a pro football franchise. No one from the Bears addressed the panel in person.

“I think we found a great partner in the Chicago Bears,” Huston said. “Today is a historic day, one we look forward to building upon.”

McDermott said “Hammond’s ready to partner with the state of Indiana. Hammond’s ready to partner with the Chicago Bears — basically, Hammond will do whatever it takes to help make this project a success.”

Huston read a statement that was later shared by the Bears, asserting the Indiana bill’s passage “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.”

A Bears spokesman added “Hammond is the site we are focused on. Work to be done.”

Team brass haven’t even nailed down an exact location for a potential stadium in Hammond. No renderings were released. Officials were evaluating Lost Marsh Golf Course near 129th Street and Calumet Avenue, about 18 miles southeast of Soldier Field and within steps of an oil refinery and residential neighborhoods.

Arlington Heights still in play

That hardly rules out the Bears’ long-coveted move to Arlington Heights, one of three places the team has pointed its focus to over the past few years, alternating with Chicago and Hammond.

The Bears’ Hammond announcement came as a surprise to Pritzker, whose staff held their latest three-hour negotiating session with Bears reps just a day earlier.

“It’s very disappointing to hear that they would put that statement out, but not say anything about the advancement that’s been made in the state of Illinois,” Pritzker said at an unrelated ribbon-cutting in downstate Collinsville. “We’re waiting to hear from the Bears what they’d like to do next.”

Complaining of a lack of legislative partnership in their current home state, the Bears announced in December they were looking at Indiana as a potential destination, visiting several spots including Arlington Heights and Hammond with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell last month.

The movement appeared to spur some action in Springfield, where the team is seeking legislation that would allow them to negotiate payments with local taxing bodies in lieu of paying full property taxes.

An Illinois House panel had been set for a hearing on that legislation Thursday, but the committee meeting was canceled at the behest of the Bears, according to Pritzker, who called his staff’s recent discussions with the team “very positive.”

“Indeed, [we] mostly agreed on a bill that would move forward this morning, but they asked us not to move forward with it… because they said they wanted to tweak a couple of items in the bill, which were things that we were working with them on,” Pritzker said, making a point of noting Bears president Kevin Warren “chose not to be in that meeting.”

Other sources close to the Illinois negotiations said they had been optimistic about the direction of talks and, despite frustration with the Hammond PR blitz, remained so on Thursday.

The team miffed local officials with a similar public about-face when they announced their Indiana exploration shortly after a meeting convened by Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle, who has pushed the Bears to consider the former Michael Reese Hospital site at 31st Street near the lakefront.

“I’ve been a Bears fan for a very long time, and I’ve wanted them to perform, stay, play here, [and I] continue to believe that that’s the best thing for them,” Pritzker said. “I believe they understand in their hearts that that may be the best thing for them, but we’ll see what it is that they end up doing here…They’ve essentially stopped things in their tracks until we hear more.”

Indiana’s bill would empower a newly created Northwest Indiana Stadium Authority to build a stadium for the Bears and sell it to the team for $1 once the 40-year bonds are paid off. The Bears would also have the option to buy the Indiana stadium sooner by retiring the outstanding debt.

In the meantime, the Bears would sign a 35-year lease that would allow the team to retain all revenues generated by the stadium.

Hoosier lawmakers are aiming to pass it by the end of next week. Illinois lawmakers are in session through May.

Indiana Gov. Mike Braun trumpeted his state’s progress with the team, saying their legislation “puts forward the essential framework to complete this agreement, contingent upon site due diligence proceeding smoothly.

“The State of Indiana moves at the speed of business, and we’ve demonstrated that through our quick coordination between state agencies, local government, and the legislature to set the stage for a huge win for all Hoosiers,” Braun said in a social media post. “We have built a strong relationship with the Bears organization that will serve as the foundation for a public-private partnership, leading to the construction of a world-class stadium and a win for taxpayers.”