Chicago Bears are 'committed' to Indiana move. Here's what would need to happen

There is now a "shared commitment" to bring the Chicago Bears to Indiana.

Indiana lawmakers announced Feb. 19 that they've struck a deal to potentially locate the football team's new stadium in northwest Indiana, pending the passage of a bill that provides the framework for a financial package and any due diligence at the proposed Hammond site. This comes nearly two months to the day from the team president's fateful letter that sparked breathless negotiations.

"It represents a transformational investment for northwest Indiana and our state," House Speaker Todd Huston told the House ways and means committee, sharing that the Chicago Bears are willing to invest $2 billion in a stadium site in the region.

Indiana lawmakers, too, in the form of Senate Bill 27, have outlined a set of investment promises from the state, Lake and Porter counties to bring the stadium to fruition.

"The passage of SB 27 would mark the most meaningful step forward in our stadium planning efforts to date," the Bears said in a statement. "We are committed to finishing the remaining site-specific necessary due diligence to support our vision to build a world-class stadium near the Wolf Lake area in Hammond, Indiana."

The announcement Feb. 19 is by no means a final deal, and Gov. Mike Braun, who has been involved in negotiations, made that clear in his statement, calling this a "framework for negotiating a final deal."

"We have built a strong relationship with the Bears organization that will serve as the foundation for a public-private partnership, leading to the construction of a world-class stadium and a win for taxpayers," he said.

Bears President and CFO Kevin Warren's Dec. 17 open letter expressed his frustration with the state of negotiations at the long-planned Illinois site and his interest in expanding the search to the wider Chicagoland region, including northwest Indiana.

This caught leaders in the region a bit by surprise, but not totally unprepared: The previous year, lawmakers had already put into place a new "Northwest Indiana professional sports development commission" charged with figuring out how to build the infrastructure necessary to attract a professional sports team. That commission had been meeting and raising money prior to the letter.

Quickly, Indiana leaders started to put other puzzle pieces in place. By mid January, legislative leaders wrote a bill to create a stadium authority that would have the power to acquire and finance the construction of facilities. This bill has moved through the legislative process quickly, passing the Senate by the end of January and on Feb. 19, getting unanimous approval from the House Ways and Means committee. Next, it'll head to the House floor.

In public statements, the Chicago Bears encouraged these developments, calling them a "significant milestone." But Indiana had some competition: Lawmakers and dealmakers in both Illinois and Iowa have boogied to get their own incentive packages in order.

In addition to the $2 billion the Bears are willing to put toward infrastructure and stadium construction, the state of Indiana is pledging to back bonds that would be repaid with tax revenue from the site as well as the city of Hammond and Lake and Porter counties.

Those tax sources, which the local governments have yet to approve, include: revenue captured from a professional sports developing taxing area around the stadium, a 12% admissions tax on large events held in the city of Hammond, a county-wide 1% food and beverage tax in Lake and Porter counties, and a 5% innkeepers tax in Lake County.

Similar to how the state supported the construction of Lucas Oil stadium, the state would make an appropriation to back the bonds, but plans to never actually use it.

"The people using the facility are going to be the ones paying for it," Huston said.

The bill also allows the state to renegotiate the terms of the state's lease with the Indiana Toll Road and use those proceeds to pay for infrastructure projects, including those tied to the stadium development, in the seven counties on Indiana's northern border.

Beyond the dollars and cents, there was no shortage of sentiment among the local officials who gathered at the Statehouse to celebrate the news.

Hammond Mayor Tom McDermott said he was skeptical when talks started out over the holidays, like many others. But now he is confident that the Bears will follow through on this commitment, and that it would completely change the look and feel of his city of less than 100,000 people.

Hammond is no Chicago, he noted, which already has fancy steakhouses and theatre districts and entertainment aplenty.

"In Hammond, we don't have Ruth's Chris. We don't have high rise hotels. This stadium project is going to bring all of that," he said. "We're going to make a Bearsville right outside the stadium. It's going to be a whole separate city within the city of Hammond. I think it's going to be absolutely transformational for my city."

Contact IndyStar Statehouse reporter Kayla Dwyer at [email protected] or follow her on X@kayla_dwyer17.