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Chicago Bears choose Hammond for new home stadium, mayor says
Summary
Mayor announced June 8 that the Chicago Bears selected Hammond, Indiana, as the site for their next home stadium, calling the decision transformational and citing state support and long-term local planning; the council later approved a separate amendment tied to nearby development. (City staff said details and timelines are still limited.)
Mayor (Mayor) told the Hammond City Council on June 8 that the Chicago Bears have selected Hammond as the location for their next home stadium, calling the choice “one of the biggest days in the history of our proud city.” He said months of planning and years of property acquisition and rezoning helped secure the project and thanked state leaders for financial support.
“This is transformational,” the mayor said. “The Bears are coming to Hammond, Indiana. It’s going to completely…people are going to be coming to Hammond, Indiana for Super Bowls, for football games, for concerts.” He said the stadium itself requires at least 60 acres and the broader site discussions have contemplated roughly 300 acres, with additional surrounding development planned.
The mayor credited bipartisan state backing and local partners, naming Governor Mike Braun, state negotiator Jim McGoff, and several federal and state legislators who have supported the effort. He said the Bears and their planners are conducting studies covering traffic, environmental and noise impacts and that the club “is still committing to Hammond” while those analyses continue.
Councilman Warpel (Warpel) interjected with a light remark about team loyalties, saying, “I look forward to the day I can sit in that stadium and watch the Packers beat the Bears with my grandkids.” The mayor responded that Warpel had set aside his team allegiance in support of the project.
The mayor cautioned that some elements remain confidential and that specific economic and infrastructure commitments will be negotiated. He told the council the package includes significant public-sector infrastructure improvements that he said would improve traffic patterns, drainage and parking.
Later in the meeting the council approved a related redevelopment amendment (see separate article) that the mayor said is needed to memorialize an additional $25 million upfront community impact payment from the developer; the mayor warned the broader deal could fall apart if the developer misses contractual deadlines.
The mayor did not provide a final construction timeline or a detailed financing schedule for the stadium on the council floor. He said more information will be provided as state and local negotiators finalize terms and emphasized the city will be “the locals ourselves” in later stages of planning and implementation.
