The Chicago Bears will not change their name if they build a stadium across state lines in Indiana.
During his annual address at training camp on Thursday, chairman George H. McCaskey said the team will not be renamed the “Hammond” Bears if they break ground on a fixed-roof stadium some 30 minutes southeast of Soldier Field.
“No. We will be the Chicago Bears whether we’re in Arlington (Heights, Ill.) or whether we’re in Hammond,” McCaskey said. “…Our focus is on Hammond, that’s where we’re advancing our efforts and that’s where the bulk of our time, attention and resources are being devoted.”
McCaskey said he remains confident fans would support the team even if a new stadium is built in Indiana, despite polling that suggests many fans would be less likely to attend home games across the state line.
Both McCaskey and Bears president and CEO Kevin Warren affirmed the team’s commitment to building a stadium in Hammond. Since the Bears’ board of directors voted to advance their stadium development in Indiana in June, McCaskey classified communication with Illinois legislators as “minimal.”
The Bears have maintained that they need property tax certainty in order to build a stadium. Illinois lawmakers did not pass legislation during the spring legislative session that would allow the Bears to pay a lump sum in lieu of property taxes. Meanwhile, Indiana has already guaranteed the Bears a tax assurance as well as offering up to $1 billion in incentives to relocate to the site in Hammond.
“We don’t have an offer from the state of Illinois,” Warren said. “And our focus now is on Indiana. And obviously, like I said, there have been occasional meetings that have taken place. But right now our focus is on Hammond, Indiana, to make sure that we bring that to life.”
Warren believes the Bears have reached the point where they soon need to decide on where to build, although he did not give a timeline for when that could happen.
The Bears’ current lease at Soldier Field — the stadium where they play but which is owned by the city of Chicago — runs through 2033.
