As the rumors of the Chicago Bears leaving Illinois have swirled all offseason, the Bears board of directors has officially voted to move forward with stadium developments in Hammond, Indiana.
The first advancements for the Indiana stadium came back in February, when a committee in the Indiana House of Representatives passed a bill that established a Northwest Indiana Stadium Authority to finance, construct and lease a domed stadium. The motive behind a move across state lines comes from the interest of united Chicago in various neighborhoods and suburbs.
Although Chicago’s lease runs through 2033, it can be broken earlier if the Bears pay a fee.
“We believe a world-class stadium project in Hammond will transform the region, connecting Northwest Indiana to the South Side of Chicago through the Loop and across neighborhoods and suburbs stretching north of the city,” the Bears said in a statement that the team attributed to Chairman George McCaskey and team president Kevin Warren. “It will bring Chicagoland together and deliver new opportunities to its residents and businesses.”
The Bears have resided in Illinois since the 1920s, when they first called Wrigley Field home in 1921 before officially moving to Soldier Field in 1971. The new stadium in Hammond sits 40 miles south of the team’s headquarters in Lake Forest, Illinois and 20 miles south of Soldier Field.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
