New Federal Bill Could Stand in the Way of Bears Move to Indiana

Two congressmen are introducing a bill Thursday that would essentially federalize Ohio’s Modell Law and impose a series of conditions before a pro team could move out of its existing metropolitan area.

The Home Team Act, proposed by Rep. Greg Casar (D., Texas) and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I., Vt.), would require pro team owners to give local communities a chance to buy the teams before relocating. Among the specific provisions in the bill:

• Mandating that team owners give a minimum one-year notice before moving to a new community, defined as crossing state lines or moving to a new metropolitan statistical area.
• Giving local communities an opportunity to buy the team at a “fair price,” including through models such as what the publicly owned Packers use.
• Enforces penalties on non-compliant franchise owners, including fines of $30,000 per day. 

Most immediately, the Home Team Act could stand in the way of a potential move by the Bears to Indiana if the bill passes. The NFL team is actively considering a shift across the state border to Hammond, Ind., and legislators there have already approved a funding mechanism to help build a domed stadium.

“As Bernie and I were talking about this, I lamented the loss of the Houston Oilers to Tennessee when I was a kid, and he was lamenting the loss of the Brooklyn Dodgers to California,” Casar tells Front Office Sports. “We’re looking to level the playing field for fans against team owners, and also for communities.”

While starting now as a Democratic initiative, Casar believes this will ultimately become a bipartisan effort, and he said there is already “significant interest” from the Illinois delegation because of the Bears’ situation. 

“The American people are sick and tired of billionaires threatening to move the sports teams they own to different states unless they get hundreds of millions in corporate welfare to build new stadiums,” Sanders said in a statement.

Parallels to Cleveland

The Home Team Act is influenced in part by Ohio’s Modell Law. That state-level provision requires a team using a tax-supported facility in the state to provide at least six months’ notice before leaving, as well as a franchise purchase opportunity for local entities. 

The Modell Law came up last year in legal battles involving the Browns’ planned relocation from downtown Cleveland to suburban Brook Park, Ohio. The most recent Ohio budget, however, changed elements of the Modell Law to apply limitations on pro teams only if they intend to leave the state entirely, and it became moot regarding the Browns.

Still, that measure provides a key window into what could be emerging across the country. 

“I was an Austin city councilman when this also came up regarding the Columbus Crew,” Casar said, referring to a thwarted move of the MLS club to Texas in 2018. “The Modell Law helped keep that soccer franchise there, we got an expansion club, and it was truly a win-win. So as the Modell Law was helpful there, we now need a solution like that nationwide.”

Congressional Multitasking

Like the approval of a boxing reform bill earlier this week in the U.S. House of Representatives, the introduction of the Home Team Act arrived amid deep political division on Capitol Hill and demands from other pressing issues. In particular, Democrats and Republicans are debating funding for the Department of Homeland Security, which in turn has helped create historically long security lines at many U.S. airports.

“We have to be able to walk and chew gum at the same time,” Casar said. “I’ve been very vocal about funding TSA, very vocal about reforming ICE, and very vocal about avoiding endless wars. We also want to keep the spotlight on protecting sports fans, and we’re going to do all of that.”