The Chicago Bears are using a tried-and-true strategy to get a new stadium built after more than 50 years at Soldier Field: threaten to leave the state. It is something many teams in past decades have done. That is because it works. Local governments don’t want to draw the ire of fans from those teams and risk losing public support for future elections. So they eventually work out a deal that gives the owners what they want. That is why the McCaskeys decided to open the door to a possible move to Indiana.
Plenty of fans aren’t happy about the idea. Almost everybody in the state government isn’t. The Bears have been an Illinois institution since their inception in 1920. Their leaving for Indiana would be ten times worse than the Giants’ leaving New York for New Jersey. It seems this public standoff has now drawn the attention of the federal government as well. According to Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk, multiple members of the House of Representatives are pushing a bill that would prevent pro sports owners from leaving a state without first giving the local community a chance to buy the team.
A new bill in Congress would prevent sports teams from relocating without first providing local interests with a chance to buy the team. While it seems unlikely in the current political climate that the bill will become law, it has direct relevance to the Bears.
Currently, the Bears are leveraging Indiana against Illinois in the effort to build a new domed stadium. Under the “Home Team Act,” the Indiana option would evaporate.
During a Thursday press conference, co-sponsor Greg Casar, a Democratic member of the House of Representatives, called it a “keep-the-Bears-in-Chicago” bill.
It’s strange how the Chicago Bears are the ones to trigger this.
After all, they’re not the first team to utilize this tactic, even in the past year. The Kansas City Chiefs had already used it against the state of Missouri regarding the situation with Arrowhead Stadium. They received offers from neighboring Kansas across the river. When Missouri refused to meet the necessary demands, the Chiefs reached an agreement with Kansas to place their new stadium there. The government made no move to act on that. Yet when the Bears consider an offer from Indiana, suddenly it’s a problem for the national government to fix. Senator Bernie Sanders is spearheading the push.
“The American people are sick and tired of billionaires threatening to move the sports teams they own to different states unless they get hundreds of millions in corporate welfare to build new stadiums,” Sanders said in a press release. “In my view, professional sports teams should be owned and controlled by the fans who love them, not by the multibillionaire oligarchs who are getting even richer by charging outrageous prices and getting taxpayers to pick up their extravagant costs. You shouldn’t have to be wealthy to take your family to a football game. You shouldn’t have to fear that a multibillionaire will move your favorite team to a different city if taxpayers refuse to subsidize it. The Home Team Act is a very modest piece of legislation that begins to address this problem. I am proud to support it.”
While it’s fair to say Congress has more important matters to address than the Chicago Bears leaving for Indiana, the fact is, they aren’t wrong about this. Too many times in the past several years have loyal, passionate fans of a prominent team been jilted because the owners wanted to move to a place where they could better line their own pockets. That is why Stan Kroenke moved the Rams to Los Angeles. The Khans have been toying with the idea of moving the Jaguars to London for the same reasons.
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There is little chance this bill gains any legs.
For one, the government is dealing with far too many other matters, both internally and externally. You have the current TSA crisis in airports and the ongoing war in Iran. It is almost impossible for this bill to get the votes needed to pass the House or the Senate. Besides, even if it did, the situation with the Chicago Bears is almost certain to be resolved before it passes. Current signs point to a deal happening in the near future. The Illinois legislature is nearing a vote on the megaprojects bill. If it passes, the team will receive the infrastructure and property tax assistance they need to start building in Arlington Heights.
If they delay the vote again or it falls short of the necessary support, most believe the Bears will accept the offer from Indiana. They already have designs on a location in Hammond just over the border. Indiana has passed the necessary legislation to give the Bears infrastructure and property tax incentives. All they need to do is say yes. It would be shocking if construction doesn’t begin by the end of this year. This government initiative falls into the category of ‘too little, too late’.
