It is hard for many people to understand why the Chicago Bears remain stuck in neutral at this stage of their stadium pursuit. They have two viable options on the table. One in Arlington Heights and the other in Hammond, Indiana. For months, they’ve been working with the Illinois state government to pass a megaprojects bill that would finally get them the property tax and infrastructure assistance they need. Unfortunately, the government continues dragging its feet, and multiple parties keep trying to block it.
One would think that this stalemate has gotten to a point where the Bears have had enough. Indiana has already passed the necessary legislation and is ready to help them get started. All they have to do is say yes. Yet the Bears continue waiting. Why? It seems like an easy decision from the outside. This can’t just be about nostalgia for the McCaskeys’ preference to stay in Illinois. At last, we may have an answer. Jason Lee, a senior advisor to Chicago mayor Brandon Johnson, dropped the other shoe to the Chicago Sun-Times.
“Everything is worth less in Hammond: your naming rights; your suite sales, your PSLs,” Lee said, referring to personal seat licenses fans must pay in most stadiums for the right to purchase season tickets.
“And then, you still have to go from zero. No site plan, no architecture, no infrastructure. No nothing to having all of that stuff designed… You’ve got wetlands. You’ve got litigation off the top. You might win it. But who knows how long it takes.”
As always, it’s about money for the Chicago Bears.
The only reason they started this entire saga back in 2021 was that the Chicago Park District wasn’t receptive to some upgrade ideas to Soldier Field that would’ve increased revenue streams. This is why they want to build a dome, too. They want a venue that can be used year-round for all sorts of events, not just football. Sure, staying in Illinois would honor the legacy George Halas left behind, but the truth is, going to Indiana would leave a lot of money on the table in the short term.
One thing to remember about this is the location. Sure, Hammond has a sprawling property to offer with 340 acres. It sounds great. There is one problem. There’s nobody there. Hammond sits in Lake County, Indiana. Recent estimates put the population at around 504,000. By contrast, Arlington Heights is in Cook County, which is home to 5.18 million people. That is a difference of $105 million in potential revenue vs. $1.1 billion. Population density is king in these situations.
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| Metric | Cook County, IL | Lake County, IN |
|---|---|---|
| Population Density | 5,485 people / sq mi | 1,011 people / sq mi |
| Total Population | 5.18 million | 504,612 |
| Land Area | 945 square miles | 499 square miles |
This is why the Bears are putting up with the government’s nonsense.
They’d be throwing away a lot of potential money each year by moving to Indiana. Yes, they’d get financial assistance from the state. The entire reason Indiana wants them there is to help make the region more attractive to more people. More people means more taxpayers and more taxpayers means more money. The problem is that such endeavors don’t happen overnight. It would take decades of work to build that area out to a point where people may want to move there. Let’s not forget the primary voices of the McCaskey family aren’t getting any younger.
George McCaskey is 70.
Patrick McCaskey is 76.
Brian McCaskey is 66.
These are not men with the time or vitality to take on such a project. They’d much prefer to build the stadium in a region already well-populated. That is Arlington Heights. Even if they drew fans from downtown Chicago, were they to move to Hammond, it wouldn’t be close to what they’d bring in at Arlington. That is the underlying reason for all of this stop-start nonsense. The Chicago Bears want to go with Arlington Heights and are squeezing Hammond for all the leverage they can.
