The Chicago Bears have entered what feels like a critical phase of their push for a new stadium. Indiana has passed legislation that would help cover infrastructure costs for a new site in the northwest region. Together with friendly property taxes, the way is paved for the Bears to choose a location. At the same time, it appears that Governor J.B. Pritzker and the Illinois government have finally reached a breakthrough in talks with the franchise, making more progress in the past three weeks than at any point in the past three years.
It feels like a decision is coming by the end of the month, one way or the other. Opinions are mixed. Some believe the Bears were merely using Indiana as leverage to get a favorable deal from Illinois. Others think the Indiana offer is too good to pass up. So you’ll be forgiven if you weren’t expecting a third player to enter the chat at the eleventh hour. According to Patrick Finley of the Chicago Sun-Times, the state of Iowa has put forth a new bill that would enhance its economic development program.
The purpose? To lure the Bears to Iowa. Yes, really.
In a move bordering on parody, Iowa lawmakers filed a proposed bill Tuesday designed to try to lure the Bears to their state. Senate File 2252 would expand a current state economic development program to incentivize building an NFL stadium in Iowa.
Kerry Gruenhagen, a Republican senator from Walcott, said in a statement that “while Illinois and Indiana squabble over this issue, we are ready to get off the sidelines and into the game.”
The Chicago Bears have zero reasons to entertain this idea.
Let’s start with the geography. Arlington Heights is 26.2 miles from downtown Chicago. Hammond, Indiana, a popular site option in the northwest area, is 28.7 miles away. Both are within easy driving and train distance for the millions of people living in the city or adjacent suburbs. By contrast, the very eastern tip of Iowa is 170 miles from downtown Chicago. The closest major city in the state, Davenport, is 173 miles away. That is nearly a three-hour drive. There is no way most fans would take such a trip.
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Then you have the property taxes. Illinois is #2 on the list of highest in the country. Iowa is #10. That isn’t enough of an improvement to convince the Chicago Bears to up and leave the state, especially when Indiana is 31st. Last but not least, Iowa has never been a major draw for professional sports teams because of its lower population. The state ranks 32nd in total residents, while Illinois ranks 6th and Indiana ranks 17th. Fewer people mean less money. Unless Iowa is willing to finance most of the stadium and infrastructure itself, there is no proposal they can make that would entice the Bears to leave.
This feels more like a publicity stunt than anything else. By joining the conversation about the Bears, it might get the word out to other professional teams that are looking to move.
