‘We are ready to get off the sidelines’ — A third state has entered the race to build the new Bears stadium and why it’s the worst option yet
The Chicago Bears stadium update just took a wild turn that no one saw coming.
The battle between the state of Illinois and the state of Indiana to see who will host the future stadium of the Chicago Bears is starting to heat up with a potential resolution being decided by the end of the month.
Earlier this week, Illinois finally starting fighting back against Indiana after it was reported that Governor JB Pritzker and legislative leaders have come to an agreement with the Bears to allow a public funding package for infrastructure around the Arlington Heights project site.
This news came days after Indiana approved the Northwest Indiana Stadium Authority that would fund the construction of a new stadium that the Bears would then rent. If anyone thought that idea was insane, just wait until you hear about the third plan getting put into motion.
Iowa becomes the third state looking to lure the Bears out of Chicago
With Illinois and Indiana in a tug-of-war over which state will be the future home of the Bears, a third state was tired of sitting by and watching the action without entering the race themselves.
“While Illinois and Indiana squabble over this issue, we are ready to get off the sidelines and into the game,” Iowa state Sen. Kerry Gruenhagen (R-Walcott) said in a statement and first reported by The Des Moines Register. “Bringing an NFL team to Iowa would attract jobs, tourism and fans to our state and give us the opportunity to showcase what Iowa really has to offer. Iowans have dedicated themselves to our college sports teams, and we’re ready to attract a professional team to our great state.”
Iowa, despite being a late addition to the party, is aiming to make a strong push that can check all of the boxes for the Bears by allowing tax certainty and the public infrastructure needed to build a world-class stadium.
The main draw for the Iowa deal is positioning the stadium between Des Moines, Madison, St. Louis, and Chicago to bring a wide net of Bears fans together in one location. The problem with that is the new stadium would be at least three hours away from Chicago. Credit to Iowa for getting in on the action but there’s no shot this actually comes to fruition and is actually considered by the Bears.
As bad as it sounds for the Bears to leave for Northwest Indiana, it’s at least still in the Chicagoland and less than an hour away from the city. The stadium with the furthest driving distance from the actual center of the city the team is named after is the San Francisco 49ers, who actually play 42 miles away from San Francisco in Santa Clara.
The proposed site in Iowa would be Davenport, the largest of the Quad Cities, which is 130 miles west of Chicago’s suburbs. It’s frankly laughable if anyone would actually consider this plan.
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