Colts are one step closer to a massive change in their own backyard and theres nothing they can do to stop it

It might be a little more crowded in Indiana for the Colts real soon.

Destin Adams — NFL News Writer
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The Indianapolis Colts became Indiana’s first NFL team in 1984. They’ve had a stronghold on Indiana sports fans for 42 years, but that could be changing here soon.

A popular storyline in the NFL over the last few months has been the fact that the state of Indiana has been making a push to convince the Chicago Bears to relocate from Illinois to Indiana. The Chicago Bears not being in Illinois seems impossible, but the latest update seems to point towards it being more likely than ever.

Indiana governor speaks on the states ongoing attempt to land the Bears

Indiana Governor Mike Braun shared an update on Thursday on where things stand in their pursuit of landing the Bears and it’s a massive one: 

“Indiana is open for business, and our pro-growth environment continues to attract major opportunities like this partnership with the Chicago Bears. We’ve identified a promising site near Wolf Lake in Hammond and established a broad framework for negotiating a final deal. If approved, the proposed amendment to Senate Bill 27 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. 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.” – Indiana Governor Mike Braun

Bears are one step closer to relocating to Indiana

If this goes through the Bears reportedly would invest two billion dollars towards building a stadium in Hammond, Indiana. This would put the Bears roughly three hours away from Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis and about 40 mins from Chicago. 

The Colts are already considered a small market team and see opposing fans from bigger markets have a healthy percentage of fans at every game.  Now the thought of kids in Indiana growing up and having two home state teams to choose between would hurt them even more in that regard. 

This would be a big win for the state of Indiana however. They would become just the sixth state to have multiple NFL teams, the second in the midwest joining Ohio. According to Joel Erickson of the Indy Star the Colts comments on this development with the Bears is pretty simple: “We wish the Bears all the best on their stadium initiative.”

States with multiple NFL teams

  • California: 3 (Los Angeles Rams, Los Angeles Chargers, San Francisco 49ers)
  • New Jersey: 2 (New York Giants, New York Jets)
  • Texas: 2 (Houston Texans, Dallas Cowboys)
  • Ohio: 2 (Cincinnati Bengals, Cleveland Browns)
  • Pennsylvania: 2 (Pittsburgh Steelers, Philadelphia Eagles)

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