The Chicago Bears’ board of directors has given the green light to proceed with constructing a new stadium in Hammond, Indiana, the franchise revealed on Friday. This decision would result in the team playing their home games outside of Illinois for the first time since the organization was established.
“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,” Bears Chairman George H. McCaskey and president and CEO Kevin Warren said in a joint statement.
“It will bring Chicagoland together and deliver new opportunities to its residents and businesses.”
This development follows just four days after the Bears indicated they were maintaining a “late spring/early summer timeline” for assessing possible stadium locations in Hammond and Arlington Heights, Illinois.
Just this week, Illinois state legislators concluded their spring session without passing a last-ditch stadium funding proposal designed to retain the Bears within Illinois borders.
Constructing their new venue in Indiana would mark a historic shift for the Bears, who would be departing Illinois for home games for the first time during their 106-year existence.
