The team announced Friday that they would accept the state’s offer to build a stadium in Hammond.
Bears Board of Directors Chairman George McCaskey released a statement, reported by the Chicago Sun Times, saying the stadium site in Indiana is “to be selected.”
The Illinois General Assembly ended its Spring session without passing its version of a bill aimed to keep the team in Chicago. Lawmakers, including JB Pritzker, said they worried about spending money on a new stadium as residents struggled with affordability.
Indiana lawmakers passed legislation earlier this year worth $1 billion dollars to incentivize the team to come.
Speaker of the House Todd Huston (R-Fishers) led the effort to pass that legislation. He said it’s a major win for Indiana.
“We’re stable. We get things done. We support big things in Indiana and this is certainly one of them,” Huston said.
And Huston said the deal they struck means Indiana doesn’t have to worry about questions of affordability.
“The economic benefits will be for all people for affordability all around that area,” he said. “The new jobs that will be created, the development that will come, the profile that will come to Hammond and northwest Indiana. This is invaluable.”
Indiana's deal included a funding mechanism that would look similar to how the state had worked to fund the Lucas Oil Stadium for the Colts. The state would issue bonds to help build the stadium. Those bonds would be paid back by an event admissions tax levied by the city of Hammond.
The state is also asking Lake County and Porter County to adopt a 1% food and beverage tax to help repay the cost of building new roads, as well as a 5% innkeepers tax from Lake County.
Hammond Mayor Thomas McDermott has argued Indiana's agreement would be hard for the Bears to pass up. In a statement released Friday, McDermott thanked Indiana lawmakers for their work on the agreement.
"The Chicago Bears chose Hammond, Indiana because they see what I have said for years: Hammond is a successful city of opportunity and possibility," he said. "Northwest Indiana will benefit from this transformative investment."
Still, Speaker Huston said the announcement means it's time for Indiana to get to work.
"I'm ready to move on. We gotta go, we gotta get the other stuff. This is step one in a bunch of different steps," he said. "But I'm just thrilled for the people up there."
Other lawmakers used cautious language in discussing the Bears' announcement.
"I am extremely excited that conversations continue to progress in such a significant way with regard to bringing the Bears to Indiana," said Sen. President Pro Tem Rodric Bray (R-Martinsville).
Sen. Ryan Mishler (R-Mishawaka) echoed that language — saying the state continues to move forward in "discussing our next steps in the process" with the team.
In a statement, Governor Mike Braun called on Hoosiers to welcome the Chicago Bears.
Contact Government Reporter Benjamin Thorp at bthorp@wfyi.org
