On Thursday, June 4, the Chicago Bears 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 confirming the decision Friday morning.
The vote isn't officially final. The exact site within Hammond is still "to be selected," and Arlington Heights, Illinois technically remains a backup if state lawmakers pass property tax certainty legislation this fall. But the message from the Bears was clear: after 106 years of playing exclusively in Illinois, the franchise is positioned to call Indiana home.
One ESPN source put it bluntly: "There is more work to do, but barring anything very strange, it's a done deal."
How We Got Here
The June vote follows months of momentum from the Indiana side. Back on February 19, Indiana's House Ways and Means Committee voted 24-0 to advance Senate Bill 27, the legislation that authorized the framework for the stadium deal. SB 27 later passed the full Indiana House with a 95-4 vote.
"I think we found a great partner in the Chicago Bears," House Speaker Todd Huston told the committee in February. "Today is a historic day, one we look forward to building upon."
At the time, the Bears called the Indiana committee vote "the most meaningful step forward in our stadium planning efforts to date." The June 4 Board of Directors vote is the next, much bigger step.
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Where Is Wolf Lake in Indiana?
The leading site is the Wolf Lake area in Hammond, with the Lost Marsh Golf Course property at 1001 129th St. reported as one of the specific properties being studied.
Wolf Lake is a roughly 800-acre body of water that straddles the Illinois-Indiana state line along Interstate 90. Half of the lake sits on Chicago's Southeast Side, and the other half is in Hammond.
The Deal
The Bears have committed $2 billion in private capital to the stadium project. Indiana's stadium authority, created under SB 27, is backed by taxes on admissions, hotels, restaurants, and tolls. Under the framework, the Bears 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.
What This Means for Indiana
If the deal goes through, northwest Indiana would gain:
An NFL franchise and all the economic activity that comes with it
A world-class stadium that could host Super Bowls, concerts, and major events
Thousands of jobs during construction and ongoing operations
A massive boost to regional tourism and hospitality
Hammond, with a population of about 76,000, would become home to one of the NFL's most storied franchises.
"Welcome to Indiana"
Governor Mike Braun celebrated the June 4 vote publicly, 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."
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Braun also thanked Speaker Huston, the Indiana legislature, and Hammond Mayor Thomas McDermott Jr. for the partnership that got the deal across the finish line.
Why Are the Bears Leaving Chicago?
The Bears have played at Soldier Field since 1971, but the aging stadium has been a point of frustration for years. It's the smallest in the NFL by capacity and lacks the modern amenities that generate revenue for other franchises.
Previous plans to build a new stadium in Arlington Heights, Illinois fell through after the Illinois General Assembly adjourned its spring session without passing a property tax certainty bill for the team's 326-acre property at the former Arlington International Racecourse. Illinois lawmakers and Chicago officials have struggled to agree on funding packages, pushing the Bears to explore options across state lines.
Indiana's business-friendly approach caught the team's attention.
What Happens Next?
The Board of Directors vote tips the scales decisively toward Hammond, but a few major items still need to come together:
Final site selection within Hammond
Construction timeline
Infrastructure improvements needed for the site
Final revenue-sharing details
Both sides have signaled urgency. The Bears remain contractually tied to Soldier Field for the immediate future, but the momentum, the money, and the legislation are all pointing south of the state line.
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