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Senate passes bill authorizing locally funded Northwest Indiana sports commission
Summary
Senators approved a bill to create a locally funded Northwest Indiana Professional Sports Development Commission made up of 17 members from seven cities; vote was 46–2 on third reading.
The Indiana Senate approved a bill to create the Northwest Indiana Professional Sports Development Commission, a locally funded body intended to attract professional sports franchises to Northwest Indiana. The bill passed third reading on a 46–2 roll call.
Senator Mitcheller, the bill’s sponsor on the floor, told colleagues the commission would include 17 members from East Chicago, Gary, Hammond, Michigan City, La Porte, Portage and South Bend and would be funded locally. “It's a local commission to be funded locally, so we took out the state appointees except for the IEDC because we figured they would be working with this group in the future,” Mitcheller said.
Mitcheller said transportation improvements, specifically new double‑tracking that connects South Bend to Chicago, had prompted interest from parties discussing bringing professional teams to the region. He described the measure as giving local governments the ability to pursue development and infrastructure projects tied to sports franchises.
The roll‑call on final passage recorded 46 ayes and 2 noes. The Senate then instructed the secretary to inform the House of the bill’s passage.
