The Chicago Bears announced on Friday that their board of directors has voted to advance their stadium development project in Hammond, Indiana, with a specific site to be determined.
"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 & CEO Kevin Warren said in a statement. "It will bring Chicagoland together and deliver new opportunities to its residents and businesses."
Friday's news comes after the Illinois House adjourned on the last day of the state's spring legislative session this week without taking up a measure that would have cleared the way for Arlington Heights and Chicago to create local stadium authorities, creating a pathway for the Bears to avoid paying property taxes on a new stadium in Illinois.
The Bears said at the time that they were finalizing their evaluation of possible stadium sites in Arlington Heights and Hammond, Indiana.
The twists and turns during the final days of Illinois' spring legislative session were consistent with what has been a laborious stadium process for the Bears, a charter NFL franchise.
The team announced in September 2021 that they had signed a purchase agreement for 326 acres of land in Arlington Heights, about 30 miles northwest of Chicago. The $197 million deal with Churchill Downs Incorporated was finalized in 2023.
In September 2022, the team unveiled a nearly $5 billion plan for Arlington Heights that called for an enclosed stadium that could host Super Bowls and Final Fours. The conceptual illustrations also provided for a year-round entertainment district with restaurants and shopping.
But the Bears shifted their focus toward building a new stadium next to Soldier Field after Kevin Warren was hired as team president in January 2023, replacing the retiring Ted Phillips. The plan to transform Chicago's Museum Campus got an enthusiastic endorsement from Mayor Brandon Johnson and a tepid reception from Gov. JB Pritzker and state legislators when it was announced in April 2024.
The team switched gears again in May 2025, announcing it had made "significant progress" with local leaders in Arlington Heights.
Amid lingering efforts to secure tax incentives in Illinois, along with as much as $855 million in public money for infrastructure at the Arlington Heights site, the Bears began to take a closer look at possible options in Northwest Indiana.
Indiana Gov. Mike Braun and state lawmakers jumped on the Bears' interest. A state House of Representatives committee passed a bill in February that established a Northwest Indiana Stadium Authority to finance, construct and lease a stadium. The team said it was doing its due diligence on a tract of land near Wolf Lake in Hammond, Indiana.
The Bears said on May 21 that Hammond and Arlington Heights were the only sites under consideration, but some Illinois state lawmakers kept pushing for a plan that they hoped would make Chicago part of the conversation once again.
The Bears have played in Illinois since the team's founding in 1920 as the Decatur Staleys. Since moving to Chicago in 1921, the Bears have never owned their stadium, whether playing at Wrigley Field from 1921 to 1970 or Soldier Field since.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
