Chicago Bears met with Illinois leaders to explore stadium legislation as Hammond site work advances

The Chicago Bears said Nov. 6 that they are continuing work on a potential stadium and mixed-use district in Hammond while also engaging Illinois officials on possible stadium legislation.

In the team’s statement, reported by the Indiana Capital Chronicle, the Bears said due diligence is being finalized across two sites near Wolf Lake in Hammond and that they expect further discussions with leaders in both states. The statement announced neither a final stadium location nor a definitive development agreement.

The public emphasis differs from August, when President and CEO Kevin Warren called Hammond the team’s “sole focus,” while acknowledging occasional Illinois conversations. The Bears’ board voted June 4 to advance a Hammond project, announcing the vote June 5 with the exact site still undecided.

Gov. Mike Braun signed Senate Enrolled Act 27, the stadium-authority legislation, on Feb. 26. The framework addresses a Hammond stadium authority and potential local tax financing; it does not select the Bears’ final site or establish a final public-private funding agreement.

Those authorizations do not establish a final public-private funding split or guarantee that the Bears will build in Indiana. Friday’s statement supplied no final project price, taxpayer contribution or construction timetable.

Illinois lawmakers are scheduled to reconvene Nov. 17–19 and Dec. 1–3, according to the Indiana Capital Chronicle. Those dates do not establish that a stadium bill will receive a vote or pass. The location, financing terms and resulting infrastructure obligations remain unresolved.

Correction, Nov. 6: Indiana’s stadium-authority law was signed Feb. 26, not in March. The Bears’ board vote was June 4; the team announced it June 5.

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