The Indiana Bears? I'm skeptical
Some thoughts on the likelihood - or unlikelihood - of the Chicago Bears moving to Hammond, Indiana.
The Bears got what they wanted from Illinois when, out of frustration with delays and seeming legislative indifference, they started making enough noise about moving to Indiana that lawmakers there said, "Hell, yeah, we'll take 'em" and rushed through some legislation welcoming the prospects of the NFL franchise's move to Hammond.
It was a smart play on the Bears' part - and one Illinois rightly took seriously. But I'm not persuaded they are or ever were really serious about officially shifting their attention. From the team's perspective, I don't see either the economic benefits or the fan-base benefits to justify the move. I'm not familiar enough with the allegiances of northwest Indiana, but it seems likely to me that there is at least as much ardor for the Indianapolis Colts two and a half hours south and in the same state as for the Bears, now an hour and a half north and in another state. Will a stadium plunked down in their midst create an immediate, longterm shift among the Colts fans?
And that's just for starters. In that same context, part of the appeal of Arlington Heights for the Bears is that it moves the playing field closer to its most affluent and loyal fan base to the northwest of the city. Are all those fans who now grudgingly trudge to the South Side to fill a stadium and would gleefully sidle over to a suburban venue really going to add another hour and a half to two hours eight Sundays a year to watch the team, especially during the - in my lifetime at least - commonly uninspiring times?
Seems a big risk to me. And in any case, it suggests that a move southward away from the city is hardly the $5 billion attraction for the team that a suburban move offers. Which brings me to an insightful article in The Athletic (https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7058376/2026/02/20/chicago-bears-gary-indiana-stadium-plan-arlington-heights/?searchResultPosition=2) this week that examines in detail the comparison of benefits between a move to Hammond and a move to Arlington Heights. The piece notes that the real attraction for the Bears is not just the eight games a year their (remember, generally lackluster) team will play, but the year-round attraction of a multi-use entertainment and business complex.
The success of that kind of business development at the outer edges of the Bears' fan boundaries in northwest Indiana seems much more risky than in a mostly affluent suburb in the very heart of the team's base.
Bears officials repeatedly promise a "world-class" venue. That phrase is interesting to me. Does it suggest the Bears will aspire to a standard that someone else has already set representing "world class" appeal? Or, does it imply they will create a uniquely impressive operation that will define the standard on its own? Either way, let's remember that the Arlington Heights site was home for nearly half a century to a sporting venue that was universally regarded as "world class." It seems the standard for a football team is more likely to be reached there than created from scratch in Hammond, Indiana.
Illinois is entering a period of difficult finances, and JB Pritzker's longshot presidential ambitions won't be helped by appearing to cotton to the profit goals of a wealthy NFL franchise, so it is not surprising, indeed it is sensible, that lawmakers have been cool to the team's entreaties up to now. But it also hurts both Pritzker and Illinois if the team splits in frustration. Thus, as early as today, lawmakers appear ready to support a compromise negotiated with the team that will turn its head back to the lover it really wants.
The Bears got the attention of Illinois lawmakers with the pretense of diverting its affections. God knows I'm no reliable prognosticator - either of the team's athletic fortunes or its economic ones - but to me, the advantages don't seem to line up in favor of northwest Indiana, and I suspect that somewhere around 2030, the grills will be firing up in the tailgates of suburban SUVs at a parking lot near Euclid and Wilke.
(Irrelevant aside: Which reminds me to tell you sometime about the time my wife Patty and I watched from a balcony at San Diego's Jack Murphy Stadium as a string of cars burst into flames, one by one, thanks to some knucklehead who stored his grill underneath his car before going into a Chargers game. Yeah, total digression from the subject, but I'll never forget walking past the cars in the parking lot after the game and watching some guy a few feet away laughing, "Wow! Look what happened to that Mercedes ... Wait, that's MY Mercedes!!" with an officer taking him by the shoulder and saying, "Excuse me, Sir, could we talk a moment over here.")