Bears Board Votes for Hammond as Rizzo Says Chicago Officials Refuse to Accept Departure
The Chicago Bears took a formal step toward relocating to Hammond, Indiana, after the franchise's board of directors voted to advance a stadium development project in the northwest Indiana city, situated roughly 20 miles south of their current home at Soldier Field. An exact site within Hammond has yet to be selected, according to a club statement issued following the vote. The Bears have played at Soldier Field since 1971.
Bears Chairman George H. McCaskey and CEO Kevin Warren framed the move in regional terms. "We believe a world-class stadium project in Hammond will transform the region, connecting Northwest Indiana and the South Side of Chicago through the Loop and across the neighborhoods and suburbs stretching north of the city," the pair said in a joint statement. "It will bring Chicagoland together and deliver new opportunities to its residents and businesses." Indiana Governor Mike Braun publicly backed the project, contrasting Indiana's approval process with what he described as five years of legislative indecision in Illinois, and cited the state's business environment and employment figures as factors in securing the deal.
Former Chicago Cubs first baseman Anthony Rizzo, who won a World Series title with the Cubs in 2016 and has since retired, offered a candid assessment of how city officials have handled the situation. "I think they're trying to deny it as long as they can until it's official," Rizzo said. He acknowledged Soldier Field's logistical shortcomings while expressing broader disbelief at the prospect of the departure. "The city of Chicago and the fan base, it's absolutely wild that they're leaving for Indiana," he said, before drawing a parallel to the NFL's New York-area franchises, both of which play their home games across state lines in New Jersey. Prior to Soldier Field, the Bears played their home games at Wrigley Field - the Cubs' ballpark - for roughly 50 seasons.
Despite the board vote, which marks the first time the franchise has formally acted on a stadium site, an NFL source told Fox News that a path back to Illinois has not been entirely closed. That path was described as requiring a significant political effort from state officials, and even a successful intervention would likely land the club not in Chicago proper but in Arlington Heights, a suburb to the northwest of the city. The Hammond vote nonetheless represents the most concrete action the Bears have taken toward leaving the state in the franchise's more than century-long history in the Chicago area.
