Update, Aug. 10, 2026: The Bears have not named a final site. In late June the team confirmed it had begun soil testing at Wolf Lake Terminals and said it is assessing three parcels in the Wolf Lake region (ABC7 Chicago). Nothing has been signed. On July 9, Gov. Mike Braun called the Hammond bid "in the red zone" (Daily Herald).
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.
Where Is Wolf Lake in Indiana?
Hammond has not named a final site. As of late June 2026 the Bears were assessing three parcels in the Wolf Lake region, and the team confirmed it had begun soil testing at Wolf Lake Terminals, an industrial site west of the Skyway (ABC7 Chicago, June 29, 2026).
"We have an excellent option already in place and continue to assess additional parcels of land in the Wolf Lake region to ensure we place the stadium and mixed-use district in the very best location."
The Lost Marsh Golf Course property was the site reported earlier in 2026. ABC7 Chicago noted in March that Lost Marsh was built on land formerly occupied by an industrial dump site (ABC7 Chicago, March 9, 2026).
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 Environmental Question
Wolf Lake and the roughly 800 acres around it support more than 2,000 plant and animal species, including walleye, bluegill and northern pike. In March 2026, months before the board vote, conservation groups raised questions about building there (ABC7 Chicago, March 9, 2026).
Paul Botts of the Wetlands Initiative pointed at the birds: "Would that affect Wolf Lake and the smaller Lake George right next to it? Absolutely, there's no question, birds that use that lake." Michael Boos of the Association for the Wolf Lake Initiative said "I don't think it's a good idea," while indicating his group would not actively oppose the project. Hammond Mayor Thomas McDermott Jr. said he had not received environmental complaints about Wolf Lake in his 22 years in office.
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."
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.
Illinois did not produce a competing offer before its legislature ended the session on May 31, 2026. Arlington Heights had pursued the project for roughly six years without a result (Daily Herald, July 9, 2026).
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
As of July 9, 2026, nothing had been signed. Gov. Mike Braun described the Hammond bid as being "in the red zone" and framed it this way: "Until you ink it, it's not done, but it's moved a long distance in a short time because it had moved hardly at all in 5.5 years" (Daily Herald).
Hammond Mayor Thomas McDermott Jr. struck a similar note at a city council meeting on June 9, 2026, five days after the board vote: "It's vague for a lot of complex reasons, but the Bears are working on Hammond right now. I'm happy to see what the Bears are putting into our city right now. We're going to be the home stadium." At that point the team had still not selected a location within Hammond (CBS News Chicago).
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.
This is a developing story. We'll update as more details emerge. Join the community and stay IN the know.
Sources
ABC7 Chicago, June 29, 2026: the Bears confirm soil testing at Wolf Lake Terminals and three parcels under assessment.
Daily Herald, July 9, 2026: Gov. Mike Braun on where the deal stands.
ABC7 Chicago, March 9, 2026: conservation groups on a stadium at Wolf Lake.
CBS News Chicago, June 9, 2026: Hammond Mayor Thomas McDermott Jr. on the state of the project.
