In a series of delays in the Chicago Bears’ stadium construction, the project is yet again hit by another snag in the name of public funding, which might stretch the idea of a stadium a bit further. 

As reported by Nic Roti of Just Another Year Chicago: Bears, he has raised concerns over the Bears moving to Hammond amid the recent developments around the change in local legislation, who are reluctant to move with the idea of public funding.

“I talked about this multiple times when it came to this. It was no cakewalk getting the Bears to go to Indiana, Roti said. “And they still very well could. I just want to say that first. But with the new reports that a lot of the neighboring counties and the people that are making the decisions on the tax increases that would help fund the Chicago Bears Stadium…”

Roti highlighted the concerns reported by Marissa Meador of the IndyStar that the newly elected local legislation is considering the idea of pushing back the proposal of a 1% food and beverage tax to fund the Bears’ project. 

But the proposed site is far away from counties like Porter County, and the voters would not be able to enjoy their return on investment. 

Not only this, the source of tax collection is still not defined, which raises concerns over the taxation. 

The local officials, like Commissioner Jim Biggs of Porter County, called out the hypocrisy of the state officials about their enthusiasm when they have to pass the bill on energy conservation for the voters of the region. 

Meador also reported that House Speaker Todd Houston met privately with the Porter County Council, and they might likely back out of the deal.

As the uncertainty around the project is increasing, another analyst, Bleeves, reported that the city is silently acquiring property around the proposed stadium site. 

Bears might be silently working on acquiring land in Hammond

As reported by Bleeves of Bleeves In Chicago - Bear Down, the Chicago Bears might be secretly acquiring land around the proposed site, but not in their name.

“These buildings are being bought. Uh, what we're not hearing right now and what I'm hearing underneath is that the Chicago Bears are acquiring all this property,” he said. “Now the city is acquiring the property for the Chicago Bears at this point because the Chicago Bears can't be putting their name on something until they have an agreement in place.” 

Using the information provided by Ben Divine, Bleeves reported that the Bears are interested in acquiring more property in a mixed-use district to facilitate the construction of their dream project. 

He highlighted that the property would not be owned by the Bears but by the owners of the hotels, restaurants, and other public utilities who will build facilities in the district. 

With the new political angle to the Bears project, the tentative timeline might be stretched further than expected.

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Written by

Kunwar Yashaswee Chhaunker