Goodell Says Bears Weigh Arlington Heights, Hammond Sites — Nfl Commissioner Bears Project News
nfl commissioner bears project news landed Tuesday when Roger Goodell said the Bears are evaluating two viable stadium sites, one in Illinois and one in Indiana, after a team briefing in Orlando. The update keeps the focus on where the franchise may build a new domed stadium and which state can assemble the cleaner path.
Goodell, Orlando, and the Bears
Goodell said the Bears are looking at the 326-acre former racetrack property in Arlington Heights and a site near Wolf Lake in Hammond, Indiana. The team bought the Arlington Heights land three years ago, which keeps that option in play even as the Indiana site would be heavily taxpayer-supported.
NFL owners and executives met in Orlando on Tuesday and received the team briefing there during a one-day meeting. The league’s 32 owners are anxious for an answer from the Bears, and any stadium relocation would need support from 24 teams to move forward.
Arlington Heights and Hammond
Illinois lawmakers were still working out details of the so-called mega projects bill on Tuesday, and that package would provide property tax breaks for a new stadium in Arlington Heights. Gov. JB Pritzker said, “We are focused very much on what's good for the taxpayers when we're making decisions about whether and how we're going to incentivize the Bears to stay.”
He also said, “We have a deal on the table with the Bears that works for the Bears and works for the taxpayers.” That puts the Illinois plan in direct competition with Hammond, where the financing load would fall far more heavily on taxpayers.
Illinois Pressure
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson continued to insist there is a way to keep the Bears at Soldier Field, even as the team has made it clear it has moved on. Illinois state Rep. Kam Buckner called the process part of the push and said, “You know, politics ain't being bad, and it is a contact sport, and it requires, I think, you know, some back and forth at times...”
Buckner added, “At the end of the day, we have put together pieces of a package already that make it very clear that Illinois is a much better option than anything, you know, east of our border.” The next step now sits with the Bears’ decision between the two viable sites, because the state package, the Indiana alternative, and the league approval threshold all point to the same hard choice for the franchise.
