Update, Nov. 9, 2026: Five months after the board vote, the Bears have not picked a final stadium site or signed a deal in Hammond. The latest is in the next section.
The Chicago Bears just took the biggest step in their 106-year history toward leaving Illinois. On Thursday, June 4, the team's Board of Directors voted to advance stadium development plans in Hammond, Indiana, with a joint statement from Chairman George H. McCaskey and President/CEO Kevin Warren released Friday confirming the decision.
The exact site in Hammond is still "to be selected," and the move isn't officially final. But one ESPN source put it bluntly: "There is more work to do, but barring anything very strange, it's a done deal."
For Northwest Indiana, this is the kind of generational news that doesn't come along often.
Where Things Stand in November
As of Nov. 6, the Bears have not announced a final stadium site. The team says it is finalizing due diligence on two sites in the Wolf Lake area of Hammond, Fox 32 Chicago reported.
Gov. Mike Braun's office is pressing for a decision. "We encourage the Chicago Bears to fully commit to a stadium in Indiana," his office said in the same report.
Illinois is still in the mix. Bears chairman George McCaskey, president Kevin Warren and NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell met with Illinois lawmakers on Wednesday, Nov. 4, to discuss stadium legislation. The Illinois veto session begins Nov. 17, and ABC7 Chicago reports that Gov. J.B. Pritzker wants a bill ready that first week so it could get a vote the week of Dec. 1.
A Chicago site has also entered the conversation. Developer Related Midwest is pitching a domed stadium at the former U.S. Steel South Works site on the South Side lakefront, a 200-acre site near 87th Street and DuSable Lake Shore Drive. Related says a stadium there could be ready for the 2032 season if legislation and financing come through. That pitch comes from the developer. The Bears have said Hammond and the former Arlington Park site in Arlington Heights are their only current options.
How Indiana Got the Bears
The vote followed the Illinois General Assembly's failure to pass a "mega-projects bill" during its spring session, which would have given the Bears property tax certainty on their 326-acre property in Arlington Heights, the former Arlington International Racecourse site. Without that certainty, the path forward in Illinois stalled.
Indiana moved fast. State lawmakers passed Senate Bill 27 with a 95-4 House vote, creating a stadium authority backed by taxes on admissions, hotels, restaurants, and tolls. The Bears have committed $2 billion to the stadium project. Under the framework, the team would keep all stadium revenue and would have the option to buy the stadium back in 40 years, once Indiana taxpayers have paid off the bonds.
Why Hammond
The leading site is the Wolf Lake area in Hammond, with Lost Marsh Golf Course (1001 129th St.) reported as one of the specific properties being studied. Hammond sits right across the state line from Illinois, putting the Bears within reach of their current Chicago fan base while making them, in every meaningful sense, an Indiana team. Our Wolf Lake stadium explainer covers the site, the deal terms and the environmental questions.
That proximity is the whole point. As the Bears statement put it: "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. It will bring Chicagoland together and deliver new opportunities to its residents and businesses."
"Welcome to Indiana"
Governor Mike Braun celebrated the vote publicly Friday, writing on X: "We look forward to building a partnership as strong as the '85 Bears defense, creating opportunities and economic growth that will benefit our state and the Bears organization for decades to come. An NFL franchise in Northwest Indiana will be an economic boost to the entire region like we haven't seen before."
Braun also thanked Speaker Todd Huston, the Indiana legislature, and Hammond Mayor Thomas McDermott Jr. for the partnership that got the deal across the finish line.
What This Means for Northwest Indiana
A full NFL franchise relocating to Lake County would be the biggest economic development story in Northwest Indiana in decades. Beyond the stadium itself, an NFL team brings game-day spending, hotel demand, restaurant traffic, infrastructure investment, and a permanent national spotlight on a region that has long been overshadowed by Chicago to the west and Indianapolis to the southeast.
It would also mean that, for the first time in 106 years, the Chicago Bears would play their home games outside Illinois.
What's Still Ahead
The vote isn't the final word. The Bears remain contractually tied to Soldier Field for the immediate future, and the team's statement was careful to leave room for ongoing negotiations. If Illinois lawmakers reconvene this fall and find a way to deliver the property tax certainty the Bears wanted, Arlington Heights theoretically could still be in play. But the momentum, the money, and the legislation are all in Hammond's favor.
For now, the welcome mat is out. Indiana is waiting on the Bears to make it official.
