The possibility of the Chicago Bears moving across state lines to Indiana took “a meaningful step” Thursday.
The amended Indiana Senate Bill 27 passed through the Ways and Means committee by a vote of 24-0. The bill establishes the Northwest Indiana Stadium Authority for the purpose of issuing bonds to finance, build and lease a stadium.
“The passage of SB 27 would mark the most meaningful step forward in our stadium planning efforts to date,” a statement from the Bears said. “We are committed to finishing the remaining site-specific necessary due diligence to support our vision to build a world-class stadium near the Wolf Lake area in Hammond, Indiana.”
Indiana Gov. Mike Braun posted on X that 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.”
The Bears have long committed to contribute $2 billion to a new stadium since they closed on their purchase of land in Arlington Heights, Ill.
However, to remain in Illinois and build on the former Arlington Park site, the Bears need a mega-projects bill to pass through Springfield that would enable the overseers of major construction projects across the state to negotiate property tax responsibilities with local municipalities. While momentum seemed to be heading in a positive direction in recent days, Thursday morning’s scheduled Illinois House Revenue and Finance committee meeting did not happen.
A spokesman for Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker said the meeting didn’t happen at the Bears’ request.
“Illinois was ready to move this bill forward,” Matt Hill, deputy chief of staff, posted on X. “After a productive three hour meeting yesterday, the Bears leaders requested the ILGA pause the hearing to make further tweaks to the bill. This morning, we were surprised to see a statement lauding Indiana and ignoring Illinois.”
The Bears have also sought governmental guarantees for infrastructure improvement around the stadium site — roads, sewers, etc. — common to all such new major developments.
The Bears’ statement doesn’t 100 percent commit to building in Indiana, but the framework for Hammond is in place. Next up is how Illinois responds, and if officials can move quickly enough to keep the Bears in the state.
“There’s a shared commitment between both parties to make this happen,” Indiana House Speaker Todd Huston said. “What a day for northwest Indiana. What a day for Indiana.”
How will Indiana pay for its share?
Huston explained it will be similar to how the state funded Lucas Oil Stadium (which opened in 2008) and Gainbridge Fieldhouse (1999) in Indianapolis.
For the state’s share of the stadium construction, the Northwest Indiana Stadium Authority would issue bonds that would be repaid from the city of Hammond adopting an admissions tax on tickets (similar to Illinois’ amusement tax) and the creation of a Professional Sports Development Area (PSDA), which is a “special taxing district authorized by the general assembly to enable the designating body to provide special benefits to taxpayers in the tax area by promoting economic development that is of public use and benefit.”
“Those dollars will be captured and repaid to pay back the bonds for the stadium construction,” Huston said. “This is the same process we used for Lucas Oil Stadium.”
For the infrastructure costs, Huston said they’ll use “some dollars found through a renegotiated lease with the Indiana Toll Road and we’ll use those dollars to help fund the infrastructure in Lake County.” Lake County and Porter County would adopt a 1 percent food and beverage tax, similar to what has been implemented in counties around Indianapolis, and Lake County would also add or increase its “Innkeeper’s Tax” on hotel rooms. (Huston said they’ve asked the county to add a 5 percent Innkeeper’s Tax, but the current tax is already 5 percent, according to the Indiana Dept. of Revenue website). Those tax dollars would be used to repay the money borrowed from the Indiana Toll Road. — Jon Greenberg, senior columnist