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The NFL’s message to Illinois leaders is very clear: it’s essentially now or never on a stadium deal to possibly keep the Bears in the state.
League commissioner Roger Goodell met Thursday in Chicago with state Gov. JB Pritzker, along with several other lawmakers including state House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch and state Rep. Kam Buckner, a key figure on prior stadium negotiations with the Bears.
The session marked the first face-to-face meeting between Goodell and Pritzker about the proposed stadium. Throughout the multiyear facility saga that has enveloped the franchise, though, the two have been in regular contact, particularly over the last year. In the latest session, the NFL made it clear that time was of the essence if the Bears are to stay in Illinois.
“Timely action is essential as the Bears work to find a long-term stadium solution for the club and their fans,” the NFL said in a statement.
The meeting happened as the Bears continued to advance deliberations on a potential, and perhaps likely, move to Hammond, Indiana. Already, state leaders there have approved a funding package for a new stadium, and as recently as August, Bears president Kevin Warren said that Hammond was the team’s “sole focus” on the stadium front.
That statement followed a vote by the team’s board of directors to advance the Hammond project, a move that in part responded to the Illinois spring legislative session ending without any action on the Bears.
“Hope is not a strategy,” Bears chairman George McCaskey said before the season regarding Illinois, and seemingly non-existent efforts then to resurrect a legislative response there.
Who’s Who
Notably, Thursday’s meeting did not include McCaskey and Warren, who lead the franchise and have been front and center on the stadium deliberations, but have occasionally rankled Illinois leaders. Instead, the session included billionaire businessman Pat Ryan, who has a sizable minority Bears stake. Ryan has deep connections across the Chicago area, and he also was the key benefactor in Northwestern’s $875 million Ryan Field, opening Friday.
“The Governor and General Assembly leadership were glad to participate in a productive meeting focused on keeping the Bears in Illinois and protecting taxpayers,” Pritzker’s office said in a statement.
Getting an Illinois stadium bill for the Bears revived will require scheduling something during the upcoming fall veto session, which runs for six combined days during late November and early December. As a result, it will require a heavy lift for Illinois leaders to coalesce the type of political consensus that was lacking in the spring.
It also means that Chicago-area legislators will need to abandon any hope of a downtown stadium option for the Bears, as no viable location currently exists. A continued search for one by some leaders, including Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson, complicated the prior political efforts.
The Bears had been seeking property tax certainty regarding a potential project on team-owned land in Arlington Heights, Illinois, as well as infrastructure support.
Meanwhile, the team continues to work through due diligence on two potential stadium sites in Hammond. That city’s mayor, Thomas McDermott Jr., remains confident of closing a deal with the Bears, and said he was informed in advance of the NFL’s meeting with the Illinois leaders.
“The reason the Bears wanted me to know is they want me to know how serious they are about Hammond and how the NFL has steps that they have to go through to close the door on Illinois as well,” McDermott said in a livestream on the city’s Facebook page. “I trust that we are in the lead and that we’re going to get this deal done.”
