Bears are setting sights toward Indiana for the team’s next stadium site after exhausting all options in Illinois
The Chicago Bears are nearing the end of the stadium dilemma and getting ready to focus their attention toward building a new stadium in Hammond, Indiana.
The Chicago Bears story everyone is tired of hearing about is coming to a close.
The Bears are getting set to turn all of their focus toward building a brand new, state-of-the-art stadium, in Hammond, Indiana after exhausting all of their potential options to remain in the state of Illinois.
“Yesterday, the Chicago Bears Board of Directors met and voted to advance our stadium development project in Hammond, Indiana, with the exact site to be selected,” Bears chairman George McCaskey and team president and CEO Kevin Warren said in a team statement. “We believe a world-class stadium project in Hammond will transform the region, connecting Northwest Indiana to the South Side of Chicago through the Loop and across neighborhoods and suburbs stretching north of the city. It will bring Chicagoland together and deliver new opportunities to its residents and businesses.”
“There is more work to do but barring anything very strange, it’s a done deal,” one source told ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
Chicago Bears have eyes set toward Hammond, Indiana after stadium bill failed to pass in Illinois
Earlier this week, the state of Illinois adjourned the 2026 spring legislative session without passing the stadium bill that would allowed Cook County cities with more than 70,000 residents (such as Arlington Heights and Chicago) to create their own sports stadium authority. The next session in Springfield won’t occur until November, barring any special summer session getting called. Soon after, the Bears released the following statement.
“We will finalize our evaluation of both Arlington Heights and Hammond, and remain on the late spring/early summer timeline that we have previously communicated,” the team said in a statement. “We will provide an update when we have a decision to share.”
That timeline was first mentioned by Chicago Bears president and CEO Kevin Warren, who’s efforts have been heavily scrutinized by the fans. In fact, Illinois Senator Bill Cunningham dished some of the blame the team’s way for why the bill wasn’t passed.
Regardless of who’s to blame, the Bears appear set on leaving the state of Illinois after what transpired earlier this week with sights set on Hammond. The state of Indiana has already passed a similar bill and one the Bears appear comfortable with.
“In all these big projects, you have to have tax certainty, which is critically important,” Warren said on April 1. “We would not be able to build a stadium without tax certainty. Fortunately we do have tax certainty in the state of Indiana, from that standpoint. There are no property-tax taxes for our stadium in the state of Indiana, so that is certain. That legislation has passed.”
If the state of Illinois wants to take one last counter swing, a special session would have to be called. Otherwise, the Bears are bound for Indiana.
The dream of breaking ground at Arlington Heights, or on the lakefront, is all but dead
The Bears purchased a 326-acre property back in 2023, that was the former home of Arlington International Racecourse, for $197.2 million with the goal of building a new domed stadium on that land. The Bears could have broken ground on that site at any point but wouldn’t do so without tax certainty from the state.
Now that the Bears are intent moving to Indiana, it’s worth wondering whether or not the team will look to sell those 326 acres of land. Regardless, that plan is basically all but dead (for now), along with the option of keeping the team in Chicago on the lakefront.
Just like what happened with the Kansas City Chiefs, the Bears are taking the first real steps toward crossing the state lines.