Our Chicago: Bears consider where to build new stadium
On Sunday, Soldier Field was packed with Bears fans cheering the team on as they played the Los Angeles Rams in the NFC Divisional round playoff.
But the question about where the Bears will be playing their home games in the years to come still looms.
The team is looking to build a new stadium, but will they leave the city or possibly the state in their search for a financial arrangement that meets their goals?
ABC7 learned that the NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell toured locations in suburban Arlington Heights and Northwest Indiana.
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson has said the Bears should remain in the city; Gov. JB Pritzker suggested that the state might be able to help with infrastructure.
During his State of The State address, Indiana Governor Mike Braun said he's working to bring the Bears to Northwest Indiana.
Democratic State Representative Earl Harris Junior of East Chicago says there are four possible sites for a new stadium: one in Hammond near Wolf Lake and three in Gary near the Hard Rock Casino, another at Miller Beach, the third is near the city's airport.
"Plenty of opportunity, lots of space and then lots of connectivity to airport, beaches, convention center, etcetera." Harris said the state is building up tourism. "So, creating areas where people can come, they can eat, they can see live shows, they can do sports, they can do gambling, they can hang out on the beach."
Harris said he doesn't have specifics on the discussions when Goodell visited Northwest Indiana.
"Clearly for me, the fact that he was in Northwest Indiana and the survey the Bears sent out mean something. You're not going to waste time if you're not seriously looking at Northwest Indiana as an option," he said.
State Representative Mary Beth Canty is from Arlington Heights, another possible location for a new Bears stadium.
"We've worked so hard here in the state to make sure we're on a good financial footing. That we are doing right by the people who live here and will have to pay the taxes here. So, we want to make sure that the policy is correct," she said.
That policy includes a proposed mega projects bill. It would allow local taxing bodies, including school districts, to negotiate property tax deals on major development projects, that are fair to all sides.
The tax bill for a new Bears stadium is estimated to be between $100 million and $200 million a year.
"I think we believe here in the state, that that decision is best left to the local government bodies who rely on that income," Canty said. "We want to make sure that we are giving them the tools that they need to make decisions for their communities."
Canty said she was not with Goodell when he visited Arlington Heights.
"I understood that the conversations were good. And that they were impressed with the site and what could be done with the site," she said.
