Pitfalls of Bears’ $4bn stadium in Indiana laid bare as deadline fast approaches, ‘Can’t do that’

The Chicago Bears’ wheels just keep on turning.

Having seemingly agreed to make the switch from Illinois and across state lines to Indiana where there are plans to build a $4 billion state-of-the-art domed stadium, the NFL‘s second-oldest team haven’t officially departed yet.

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This has only given Illinois hope that they can somehow, in the eleventh-hour, convince the Bears to stay, despite having revealed that they had already “exhausted every opportunity”.

“The reality is that the Bears have to express themselves about what it is that they want,” Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker said on Tuesday.

Pritzker also revealed that he is open to holding a special legislative session this summer if he can reach an agreement with the team.

“I think lots of people have gotten calls, including my administration and me, so they have thoughts, but they have not been clear about what is the bill that they need, and how do they need to look, and then, can they get the votes necessary to get it done in the House and the Senate,” he said.

Illinois State Representative Kam Buckner, who wrote the property tax relief bill in an attempt to persuade the Bears to build their new stadium in Arlington Heights, which subsequently failed, has increasing doubts over Indiana’s bid to lure the NFL franchise.

“Obviously, there’s still some pressure coming from the state of Indiana and they’ve put a deal on the table,” Buckner said on Tuesday. “There’s been a lot of conversations about that and we’re going to work through whatever that looks like.”

From Buckner’s point of view, with state legislators having adjourned on June 1 without a resolution over the ‘megaprojects bill’, Chicago and Springfield appear not to be interested in a special session that could keep the Bears with tax relief and development incentives.

”You’ve got two bills moving concurrently,” Buckner said. “You’ve got a House bill that has made its way over to the Senate. You have a Senate bill that has now made its way over to the House.

“Both of those bills have some type of property tax certainty in them. Both of those bills, I think, could be used for the Bears for what they need to do here in the state of Illinois.

”I think the Bears have to decide what makes most sense for them, which one of those bills is the bill they can get behind and wrap their arms around that can help them remain here in the state of Illinois and we’re willing to have that conversation.

Bears/MANICA

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“As far as a special session is concerned, I don’t wanna put the cart in front of the horse. We cannot have a special session until we have a deal.

“You don’t call a special session to draw up a flight plan. You call a special session to land the plane. Those conversations we have between now and the next couple of weeks will really indicate whether or not we can really move forward on any call for any special legislative session around this particular issue.”

Buckner maintains his belief that the state’s, so far, failed efforts to come to an agreement to stay in Chicago is partly the fault of the Bears.

”I think there was a portion of these conversations that were not good faith where the Bears were really trying to get as many options and offers on the table as possible because they thought that put them in a position of strength,” he continued.

“I think we’re now in the position where we’re having good faith conversations. I do trust what I’m hearing from them, which is why I’m leaning on what they have been very clear about since our last conversations, which is they want to still find a way to find something here in the state of Illinois.”

Indiana’s plans may not be as advanced as initially believed

Whilst Indiana appear to have made huge in-roads on attracting the Bears across the state, they appear to have gone backwards slightly with reports that they are evaluating other potential building sites as well as that of Wolf Lake in Hammond.

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“The statement that I saw the first week of June was very different than the statement we saw in February,” Illinois House Speaker Chris Welch said.

“In February, that statement was very specific about Wolf Point. In the statement that came out in June was very generic that they are looking at sites, which tells me that they’ve taken a step backwards.”

However, Hammond Mayor Tom McDermott revealed that it they are just expanding their search to ensure they find the best location to build for all involved parties and are “getting close” on an agreement.

But Buckner is not convinced.

”When you look at the practical things like environmental studies, remediation of brownfield sites, things like air pollution, when you look at things like traffic studies and what it would mean for that area, those are all things that have not been broached yet, including the fact that permitting and zoning have not been touched yet,” Buckner said.

“What also has not been touched is people just think you can snap your fingers and move to a different state. As an NFL franchise, you cannot do that.

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“You have to put in a relocation application with the NFL. In that relocation application, there are a lot of things that you have to answer that the Bears have not answered yet. O

“ne of those things is that there is no other plan for you in your current city or state. That will not and is not the case for the Bears. You also gotta find a way to get three-fourths of the NFL owners to vote for you to move.”

The plot thickens, with the Bears having set a late spring/early summer deadline to announce its official – and final – decision over where they build their new stadium.

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