Indiana Advances Stadium Plan to Lure Bears

Indiana lawmakers are moving quickly to poach the Chicago Bears.

On Thursday, the Indiana House Ways and Means Committee voted 24-0 to create a Northwest Indiana stadium authority empowered to issue bonds to finance, construct and lease a new stadium for the NFL franchise near Wolf Lake in Hammond. The Chicago Tribune reported that the proposal, sponsored by Republican House Speaker Todd Huston, now advances as GOP leaders in Indianapolis press what they’ve framed as a generational economic opportunity for “The Region,” referring to Northwest Indiana.

The authority would acquire land and tap local tax revenue to support a publicly financed stadium just across the Illinois border. Under the framework outlined by Huston, the Bears would contribute $2 billion toward construction costs, while Indiana would issue bonds backed by Hammond’s admissions tax and a professional sports development area tax district.

The state used a similar structure to finance Lucas Oil Stadium for the Indianapolis Colts, appropriating funds in its budget to reassure bondholders, while relying on stadium-related tax revenue to cover debt service. Huston said the state also plans to renegotiate its lease of the Indiana Toll Road to support infrastructure improvements. Lake and Porter counties would be asked to adopt a 1 percent food and beverage tax, and Lake County a 5 percent innkeepers tax.

The Bears called the Indiana vote “the most meaningful step forward in our stadium planning efforts to date,” though Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker said the team later characterized the statement as a sign of ongoing negotiations, not a relocation decision.

Hammond Mayor Thomas McDermott’s pitch is straightforward: a 20-minute drive from Soldier Field — the Bear’s current stadium in Chicago — a built-in fan base and what he called a “once-in-a-generation” chance to anchor regional development.

Pritzker said he was “surprised, dismayed and very disappointed,” noting that his staff and legislators had just met with team representatives for three hours to discuss legislation that could facilitate a new $2 billion stadium in the Northwest Chicago suburb of Arlington Heights.

Hours earlier, an Illinois House committee canceled a scheduled hearing on a bill that would allow the Bears or another megaproject developer to negotiate long-term property tax agreements with local taxing bodies — a mechanism the team has said it needs to privately finance a stadium in the northwest suburbs.

Pritzker has maintained that Illinois won’t pay for a stadium, though he has expressed support for up to $855 million in infrastructure funding. Meanwhile, some Chicago lawmakers have insisted the team address more than $500 million in remaining debt from the 2003 renovation of Soldier Field before leaving the city.

— Eric Weilbacher