Has Governor Fatbody weighed in on this topic yet?

The Gary, IN, waterfront is mile after mile of Superfund sites.

At least land will be cheap. And there's plenty of parking.

Whaler said:

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I don't think any of our cities or counties should pay for new athletic stadiums for pro teams. Let the teams build their own stadiums. I expect I'm in the minority, though.

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Yeah honestly I'm a big sports fan that lives in Dallas and while I'd hate to be left without a team if the Mavs/stars both leave, I don't think it would be a bad financial decision for the city.

The amount of $$$ cities have to contribute to get sports teams has gotten way out of hand.

Eliminatus said:

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Highway6 said:

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Would not surprise me. Chicago is incapable of building a new stadium for the same reasons Dallas can't, NY City can't, and SF can't

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Not sure if that is quite a gotcha. NFL stadiums are one of the biggest grifts a city can undergo. The difference between who pays, who profits, who is liable, and whose money is at stake is borderline criminal IMO.

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Good points. Just the cost of the land in large cities is prohibitive and that's before you start dealing with corrupt big city politics. Arlington was pretty smart in how Jerry World was built. First the land was fairly cheap and in a good location. Then they told Jerry there was a cap on what the city would pay for and Jerry would be responsible for any overages. Sure enough Jerry kept adding and adding and went over budget by about $500M if I recall. Still the taxpayers take it on the chin almost every time

fc2112 said:

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The Gary, IN, waterfront is mile after mile of Superfund sites.

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They should feel right at home then!

Interesting that Chicago is so bad that they are threatening to not only move out of the city but to leave the State of Illinois entirely.

East Chicago Bears.

T dizl televizl said:

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Whaler said:

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I don't think any of our cities or counties should pay for new athletic stadiums for pro teams. Let the teams build their own stadiums. I expect I'm in the minority, though.

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Yeah honestly I'm a big sports fan that lives in Dallas and while I'd hate to be left without a team if the Mavs/stars both leave, I don't think it would be a bad financial decision for the city.

The amount of $$$ cities have to contribute to get sports teams has gotten way out of hand.

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You don't think Dallas hasn't made tons of dollars on top of this from sales revenues that ticket buyers are spending for parking, eating, drinking, stayin in hotels, etc...?

They are going to be much closer to South Bend than Chicago.
Why not call them the Notre Dame Bears or the Indiana Bears?
Why does Chicago keep the naming right for a team that is 3 hours away in a different state?

Ol_Ag_02 said:

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I hear Gary Indiana is a nice place to raise a family!

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And the ghost of Michael Jackson will do half time shows!

Gary is about as far from the existing stadium as the other leading option, which is Arlington Heights, which is a relatively affluent northwest suburb of Chicago. Gary would be closer for southside residents. The real shame is that they're leaving one of the last amazing locations left in the NFL. A true city stadium surrounded by museum districts, on the lake, etc.

This is a good topic when fake conservatives expose themselves.

Tax breaks for the poor else they won't be able to eat/have a roof over their heads?
Fake Conservative: NO! They need to pay their fair share. They need to have skin in the game!

Tax breaks to multi-billion dollar pro-sports franchises?
Fake Conservatives: As you wish... we are pro-business. Here are all the breaks you want. If you need anything else just lemme know. We will do whatever it takes to keep the team in the city and this will help downstream businesses.

aggiehawg said:

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Ol_Ag_02 said:

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I hear Gary Indiana is a nice place to raise a family!

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This ain't The Music Man days.

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Are there any Wells Fargo branches in Gary, Indiana?

TyHolden said:

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They are going to be much closer to South Bend than Chicago.
Why not call them the Notre Dame Bears or the Indiana Bears?
Why does Chicago keep the naming right for a team that is 3 hours away in a different state?

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get yourself a new map rand mcnally

BTKAG97 said:

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Interesting that Chicago is so bad that they are threatening to not only move out of the city but to leave the State of Illinois entirely.

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And Gary isn't exactly Arlington, Texas

BMX Bandit said:

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TyHolden said:

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They are going to be much closer to South Bend than Chicago.
Why not call them the Notre Dame Bears or the Indiana Bears?
Why does Chicago keep the naming right for a team that is 3 hours away in a different state?

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get yourself a new map rand mcnally

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I read Hamilton Indiana which is about 3 hours away.

T dizl televizl said:

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Whaler said:

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I don't think any of our cities or counties should pay for new athletic stadiums for pro teams. Let the teams build their own stadiums. I expect I'm in the minority, though.

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Yeah honestly I'm a big sports fan that lives in Dallas and while I'd hate to be left without a team if the Mavs/stars both leave, I don't think it would be a bad financial decision for the city.

The amount of $$$ cities have to contribute to get sports teams has gotten way out of hand.

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The AAC is still an excellent arena. And if teams had to pay for their own new venues, they'd never leave. But they pit cities against each other and get brand new billion dollar facilities for free. It's ridiculous.

The teams are partially to blame for the manipulation and threats. But the taxpayers bear some blame too because they agree to pay.

TyHolden said:

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BMX Bandit said:

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TyHolden said:

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They are going to be much closer to South Bend than Chicago.
Why not call them the Notre Dame Bears or the Indiana Bears?
Why does Chicago keep the naming right for a team that is 3 hours away in a different state?

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get yourself a new map rand mcnally

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I read Hamilton Indiana which is about 3 hours away.

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grab some new readers also

The Bears are a rather interesting case.

The City of Chicago screwed up when they decided to "renovate" Soldier Field by building a new stadium within the shell of the old one. The new stadium is crap, and Soldier Field lost its historic landmark status, to boot. So, now the Bears are looking for a new stadium. The City doesn't want them to leave, but Chicago doesn't have the money to build a new stadium.

The Bears purchased the old Arlington Park horse racing facility in the suburbs, and planned to build a new stadium there using their own funds, but were going to need the state to help out on infrastructure (roads and such) and some kind of tax deal (presumably an abatement, or, perhaps, what we would call a TIF district) in order to make the new site viable, but the State of Illinois is broke (thanks to ridiculous pensions and graft) and, so far, has made no move towards helping the Bears with the aspect of the project.

Thus, the Bears are now turning to the State of Indiana, which is not broke, and sits about 20 miles from downtown Chicago.

I think the Bears would still prefer to build their own stadium at Arlington Park, but if Illinois isn't going to do what they want, they will see if they can get that from Indiana.

Please let the Gary Bears happen.

Quote:

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Indiana is open for business, and our pro-growth environment continues to attract major opportunities like this partnership with the Chicago Bears. We've identified a promising site near Wolf Lake in Hammond and established a broad framework for negotiating a final deal. If approved, the proposed amendment to Senate Bill 27 puts forward the essential framework to complete this agreement, contingent upon site due diligence proceeding smoothly. The State of Indiana moves at the speed of business, and we've demonstrated that through our quick coordination between state agencies, local government, and the legislature to set the stage for a huge win for all Hoosiers. We have built a strong relationship with the Bears organization that will serve as the foundation for a public-private partnership, leading to the construction of a world-class stadium and a win for taxpayers.

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Good on Indiana for being ready to play ball. Everyone knows IL, Cook County, and the city of Chicago are impossible to work with. I can’t blame the team whatsoever for this move.

For everyone getting upset about the move, well… here’s a map for reference. pic.twitter.com/ldsWsXwyob

— Andrew Moser (@Andrew_Moser) February 19, 2026

It is a 15.939 million dollar tax hit to Illinois just on the Bears player payroll. When you factor in other full time and part time staff and sales tax revenue, this is a huge hit to Illinois and Chicago.

Omperlodge said:

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It is a 15.939 million dollar tax hit to Illinois just on the Bears player payroll. When you factor in other full time and part time staff and sales tax revenue, this is a huge hit to Illinois and Chicago.

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I was just thinking about the tax implications for the players and staff myself. They have to be rather supportive of this at the end of the day I would think