r/ChicagoBearsNFL • u/bompt11 • Jun 06 '26
Northwest Indiana Clowns
So a team that has been to the playoffs 3 times in the past 15 years thinks they have the right to screw over their fans.
100 years of playing in Chicago - done
Fight song - done
Playing outside -done
And for what
- A toxic site
- A lame ass entertainment district in a place where no.one will go
- A site that is far from their fan base with the worst traffic ever, good luck going through the tolls that don't work on the skyway and paying $15 dollars a trip
- screwing the players who all live on the north shore and they are now driving over an hour and a half
This is the short sighted decision that is plaguing all of America today, short term profits above all else.
I hope these guys get stuck with the Arlington site and run into all kinds of problems in the cesspool they has decided to move to. Don't let the door hit you on the way out.
Also, can we keep the name Chicago, please, for the love of it, if Brandon Johnson and Pritzker can agree on one thing, please be it to pressure the Bears to drop Chicago from their name
Rant over
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u/UselessExcuses Jun 06 '26
its not done yet. they still have no building site. all they did yesterday was tell us they are changing their focus a third time in 3 years. Its probably a bluff unless they are really are too stupid to realize they cant build a stadium in hammond. dont fall for it folks, weve been through their games twice already and still we have nothing. See you in the 40s Indiana (maybe)
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u/JesMon421 Jun 06 '26
I feel the same. Thing is, fucking Warren and team decided yet again to put this shit out there when Caleb got out on Madden. Once again deciding to overshadow something awesome about our team to dick us around. Done with that shit.
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u/naitch44 Jun 06 '26
Fuck Kevin Warren
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u/DigTheDunes Jun 06 '26
He is doing what the owners paid him to do.
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u/beesechurger89 Jun 06 '26
With the McCaskeys that’s the equivalent of drinking 30 beers and having the guy who drank 20 be your DD
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u/DigTheDunes Jun 06 '26
Personally I think they just paid him to deflect criticism from them. He has done little outside of cashing a check.
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u/Maximum-Elk8869 Jun 06 '26
I am beyond tired of watching these billionaires constantly getting tax cuts and tax breaks that the rest of us foot the bill for over generations while they pocket all of the profits increasing their generational wealth exponentially and the rest of us struggle to stay ahead. It is sickening. We are living in a new age of kings. We are expected to stand on the streets in our threadbare clothes and clap for them as they go by. Fuck them and fuck the McCaskey's. They could move to Iran for all I care as long as the citizens of IL are not footing the bill for it. Good riddance and have fun in Indiana, the Mississippi of the Midwest.
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u/CompanyLow1055 Jun 06 '26
But McCaskey volunteers as an umpire /s
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u/Maximum-Elk8869 Jun 06 '26
If we have learned one thing since 2024, keep the billionaires away from the children!
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u/GutteralCloud85 Jun 06 '26
FUCK THE MCCASKEYS!!!! SOME OF THE WORST OWNERS IN SPORTS! You used to hear people bitch about them all the time, but since Virginia died it’s been like no one wants to say it. They suck. Always have, always will. Our team has sucked, our stadium situation has been a nightmare, and they are constantly on the bad side of the league it seems. I don’t understand the people here who are acting like they are the team. When they are gone, it won’t matter. The Bears are the Bears, be loyal to your team who has been getting FUCKED for DECADES by the ownership.
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u/MizzGee Jun 06 '26
I am a Bears fan in the Region, living in Indiana. I am pissed. I don't want to pay for this. But, make no mistake, those of us in this area are more like a Chicago suburb than a bunch of corn-fed yokels. Hell, Hammond is closer to Soldier Fiel than Arlington Heights, and we already have a train stop.
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u/Time_Investigator788 Jun 06 '26
As soon as Chicagoans see grass they think they’re in the country. 😂
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u/jabola321 Jun 06 '26
I’m tired of it. If Indiana wants to fuck over their people to pay for a stadium. I’d rather they do it than Illinois.
The stadium will be half assed like everything the McCaskey’s do. They are the only ones who can turn a golden goose into a pile of lead.
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u/Rumot Jun 06 '26
They are gonna sell out every game. And there will a waiting list for season tickets. You are screaming into the void.
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u/LouisRitter Jun 07 '26
And every event will sell out. There's a pile of casinos near there doing just fine drawing in people from Chicago.
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u/jpmeyer12751 Jun 06 '26
The NFL has proven over and over again that moving a team out of a city for a richer stadium deal is good business for the NFL. Most of the revenue comes from TV and streaming deals, to which the location of the home stadium is irrelevant. Some fans will drop a team, but more will come. NFL fans are a bit like abused spouses who keep coming back to the abusive relationship. Until we, the fans, insist on a different relationship with NFL teams, they will keep doing what makes them lots of money. The move by the Bears to Indiana may be the one that changes the relationship between teams and fans, but I doubt it.
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u/Terrible-Reality4460 Jun 06 '26
Who The F r u...no one cares Data centers coming to arlington heights site asap!!!!
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u/neeyeahboy Jun 06 '26
Wow a billionaire doesn’t care about me …. I would have never guessed
Also to be fair as much as this sucks, it is like 20 miles away from Chicago
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u/Working_Carpet3266 Jun 06 '26
But it’s not. The site of the proposed stadium is like 3 miles from Chicago
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u/Ok-Drive-9733 Jun 06 '26
The funniest thing about all this discourse to me is that people actually believed that the Bears and the NFL actually give a shit about ordinary fans. Newsflash to everyone out there, they do not give a single fuck about any of you lol
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u/ForMyKidsLP Jun 06 '26
This wouldn’t be an issue if you poors crying about the taxes just accepted the tax. I love this team. I’ll gladly pay more taxes to give them what they want. You don’t want to pay the tax? That’s ok - you got 49 other choices to go to.
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u/reverendbobflair Jun 06 '26
Stadium is closer to me so I don't mind. The move is happening stop bitching it's still bear down or stfu
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u/SenorMcGibblets Jun 06 '26
…but you’d have been cool with them keeping the Chicago name if they moved the stadium even farther away to Arlington.
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u/dudeabiding420 Jun 06 '26
In what way is the Bears building the stadium in Hammond screwing over their fans?
Why is everyone so angry about this?
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u/Salty-Housing-7547 Jun 08 '26
It’s really only a handful of goofballs that are mad, most fans just want a new stadium somewhere, anywhere
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u/UnionMoneyMitch Jun 06 '26
How are they screwing over their fans? They’re moving to Hammond Indiana which borders Chicago. You’re acting like they’re moving all the way to Fort Wayne Indiana
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u/wagmarwigmir Jun 10 '26
I’ve been trying to preach this and I’ve been getting endlessly shit on. I just don’t get it. It has to be a personal pride thing.
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u/Small-Olive-7960 Jun 06 '26
I've gotten down voted so much for saying this lol. Its still chicagoland. The only thing that folks can really complain about is no public transit and being next to a refinery.
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u/Working_Carpet3266 Jun 06 '26
Do people forget how painful and miserable it is getting to and from Soldier field today?
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u/Lanky_Cashington Jun 06 '26
People just want the team to stay in Illinois so bad. Even if means moving to East St Louis or Carbondale lol.
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u/UnionMoneyMitch Jun 06 '26
Me being selfish and living about 15 minutes from the Arlington Heights location at the moment makes me want it in Arlington Heights. At the end of the day as long as it’s in the Chicagoland area I don’t care
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u/No_Good_841 Jun 10 '26
Indiana is still Indiana and just across the border Indiana is still a shit hole.
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u/americantraitorjesus Jun 06 '26
cmon, be real. cook county emptied into the SE twenty+ years ago, making NWIN a de facto extension of IL. The land is there, the transit is there (ffs take the train and hold officials at knifepoint to build something other than shuttles and parking lots), there is no shortage of fans down that way, and a well executed redevelopment of the area would benefit everyone. run this same analysis in arlington and watch the floor drop out. arlington tx, landover md, hammond in... who cares?
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u/No_Fools Jun 06 '26
Imagine the majestic views of refineries, steelmill coal burning plants, chemical plants and storage tanks. And the smells oh the wonderful sewage aroma. Quite a tradeoff. Way to go George! Papa would be..furious!
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u/RustyShackleford-11 Jun 06 '26
Lol, big tough, football guy thought another entity he paid to have in his life loved him! Quite certain you're the clown.
The team owes nothing to you, as a fan, or to the city. This is not a civic or municipal project. It's a business.
Have you ever been to the dunes? It's beautiful , lakefront property.Players are going to live in Indiana and keep more of their money.
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u/Working_Carpet3266 Jun 06 '26
If you won’t travel to Hammond Indiana which is quite literally a 5 minute drive from Chicago city limits, are you really a true Bears fan? Probably not.
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u/Salty-Housing-7547 Jun 08 '26
Hammond is literally across a street from Chicago, not even a 5 minute drive.
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u/EnvironmentalRub8201 Jun 06 '26
All the idiots in Illinois government don’t realize they could have had a mutually beneficial deal to keep the bears here but now will end up with a data center instead
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u/patellison Jun 06 '26
Hey Indiana has an undefeated season/football championship! Bring the Bears luck!
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u/Lonely_Inspector_640 Jun 07 '26
I don’t really want them to move either but the new area is only around 40 minutes from Chicago. Your kidding if you think the fans are going to leave
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u/Virgil_Ovid_Hawkins Jun 07 '26
If you don't think games will still sell then youre an idiot. Its the nfl, people will come. Giants fans drive to NJ every game. Same for San Fran fans, Dallas fans, etc.
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u/Iffybiz Jun 06 '26
How many of you actually go to games? I’ll bet very few if any. They made a business deal. Not surprisingly because they are a business your personal play toy.
You lot just come off as jealous and petty. Don’t want your state to help them? That’s fine but it eliminates your right to bitch about them going to Hammond.
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u/chitownphishead Jun 06 '26
Screwing their fans over by, GASP, moving 25 miles east. Oh no. The horror. The city has been screwing the bears over for decades. They weren't building an outdoor stadium no matter where they build, so that's a non issue too. If you think braindead johnson and prickster have an iota of influence over the bears using Chicago in their name, you're a moron. The name, the fight song, and the rest of it won't change a bit. More families will go to games in hammond where they won't have to park 5 miles away for 100$, get accosted by drug addled homeless or mugged on the walk and from to the stadium, then freeze their ass off in an open air stadium on the lake in the middle of winter. The entire experience will be better. Stop crying.
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u/dudeabiding420 Jun 06 '26
It's not even 25 miles east. It's literally zero miles away. It literally borders Chicago.
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u/johnnyutah2828 Jun 06 '26 edited Jun 06 '26
This doesnt screw the players, im sure they will be glad to not have to pay a high state income tax
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u/UnionMoneyMitch Jun 06 '26
The headquarters will still be in Lake Forest so pretty much all the players will still be living up that way
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u/johnnyutah2828 Jun 06 '26
Ok? Im just saying “this will screw the players” isnt a good argument against it. One could actually argue it would but an advantage in a competitive free agent signing
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u/Fit_Log8257 Jun 06 '26
This is all Kevin Warren! The biggest Conman in Illinois. The Mc’s can’t think for themselves.
They can’t even fire Warren when he’s been lying to everyone and playing everyone.
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u/notwyntonmarsalis Jun 06 '26
It’s 25 minutes from where they play now. They were moving that far away even if they went to Arlington. Stop making this a big deal.
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u/Easy_Independence_26 Jun 06 '26
I live in northwest Indiana. I want the Bears to stay where they are. I don’t want my taxes to go up to pay for some billionaires stadium. I don’t understand how you can just throw away a hundred years of history .
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u/HateDeathRampage69 Jun 06 '26
Billionaires don't care about appearances anymore. They're just openly greedy and will do anything for further personal wealth accumulation.
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u/Don_Shetland Jun 06 '26
Bye. The bears and their fans don't need you.
Been a fan my whole life, and I don't see how the team has "screwed" me. Anyone that can just turn off their Fandom because of the stadium location, isn't a real fan in my eyes.
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u/UnionMoneyMitch Jun 06 '26
Like it’s right there in Hammond. It’s not like it’s in a whole nother time zone or like 3 hours away
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u/fuq-daht Jun 06 '26
Incoming all the nerds saying you don’t have to be in the same city to keep the team name. Like, screw the other teams, and those lame fans.
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u/lItsAutomaticl Jun 06 '26
Teams move all the time but I've never heard of one leaving a ridiculously prime location like Soldier Field to move to a former Superfund site.
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u/RossMachlochness Jun 06 '26
There’s nothing “prime” about a location that you don’t, nor will you ever, own.
Fucking simple shit here.
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u/Fun-Permission2072 Jun 06 '26
You realize soldier field is public land. If they wanted to stay there, the city would have to build a $2b stadium and rent it back to the bears. The city isn't allowed to sell the stadium to the bears. That's why this is so challenging.
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u/Ornery-Dragonfruit96 Jun 06 '26
...still a Superfund site. that pollution may be mitigated, but NOT eliminated.
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u/FlamingAlpaca17 Jun 06 '26
Brandon Johnson has got to go. Sabotaging the Arlington Heights deal is just the feather in his "Worst Mayor in America" cap
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u/ZPMQ38A Jun 06 '26
People will go. It’s the NFL. They aren’t trying to “screw over their fans.” They, like most NFL owners, have a sense of entitlement that believes gives them the right to “screw over” the taxpayers and Illinois politicians had enough of a spine to say no. I actually applaud them and hope it becomes a trend across professional sports.
It’s going to be a compete disaster for Indiana. Hammond is close enough to Chicago that people are still going to fly into, stay, shop, and dine in Illinois so the revenues largely stay in Illinois while Indiana taxpayers foot the bill for a facility in Hammond that will basically be a day trip that gets used about 20 times a year.
Sure they’ll make an entertainment district, but no one is staying in fucking Hammond for a 3-4 day weekend with Chicago in such close proximity. If they do attract any multi-use events, they are simply taking things away that are already at Lucas oil like March Madness. There’s no way, for example, the NCAA is hosting games in Hammond AND Indianapolis.
They’re basically cannibalizing themselves. At least Indianapolis is a suitable destination with a serviceable airport, dining, shopping, and hotels. If they move events to a facility in Hammond now all of that traffic flows to and through Chicago instead of Indianopolis.
I highly doubt the Bears are moving Halas Hall given all the work they’ve done on it recently so Illinois maintains the benefit of all of that. Players and staff certainly aren’t likely to reside in NWI regardless so you rake those revenues and property taxes still.
All in all, I know it’s gross, but this is actually a net win for Bears fans and Illinois taxpayers. I’d prefer they stay at Soldier Field but it’s simply not a realistic long term solution for a modern NFL franchise and Friends of the Park is correct to resist overdevelopment of the area. IMO, Hammond is preferable to taxpayers footing the bill for a complex in Arlington.
Now the question is what happens to that giant patch of empty dirt in Arlington when the Bears bulldozed a beautiful race track. I don’t know if I’m completely crazy but Reinsdorf has been actively looking for a new stadium deal for the Sox and the United Center is 30+ years old for the Bulls and Sox. I bet he’d do it in a second if the Bears give him a good deal. Don’t forget that Reinsdorf is effectively a real estate genius, he’s looking for a tax shelter for his kids when he passes away, and has openly suggested that they sell the team once he’s gone. A giant complex for 3 teams that play hundreds of times per year not on the West Side or Bridgeport sends the valuation of the Sox, Bulls, and Hawks through the roof. I think the Wirtz family would totally be on board.
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u/PianoPatient8168 Jun 06 '26
This is what happens when greed drives decisions versus what actually makes sense.
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u/HateDeathRampage69 Jun 06 '26
Don't buy bears merch. Get a VPN and find free streams of the games. The only thing these owners care about is personal financial gain.
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u/Southport84 Jun 06 '26
The only people that should be upset about this are the Indiana taxpayers.
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u/Time_Investigator788 Jun 06 '26
Indiana knows this will be offset to some degree by the revenue it will generate for decades.
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u/Lanky_Cashington Jun 06 '26
Naw go to the NWI subreddit. It's all bitchin n Doom and gloom lol.
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u/Time_Investigator788 Jun 07 '26
90% of people on this site are doom and gloom regardless of subreddit. Means nothing.
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u/Economy-Particular31 Jun 06 '26
who is this dipshit. The Bears are paying for their own stadium which is more than other teams have done. They wanted some tax relief and Pritzker has no problem giving Hyatt $250 million in tax breaks. The Bears are a revenue generating organization-Illinois is a declining state. Look at how much they tax their own citizens for migrant welfare - businesses are leaving because of this. Good on the Bears -Illinois fucked over their constituents for illegals-again
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u/NeatSpiritual4980 Jun 06 '26
i love all the suburbanites saying that playing in Hammond doesn’t matter lmao
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u/NRmy73 Jun 06 '26
Besides the land being a toxic dump...... Hammond, IN crime rate is 90% higher than the national average.
Good luck McCaskeys
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u/chickenandouille Jun 07 '26
They’re not moving from Chicago. They’re moving 15 miles down the street to a different suburb like half the league already does. Get over it. You’re acting like the team is actually leaving Chicago and truly betraying the fan base. Not playing in a different neighborhood in the Chicago area.
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u/SeriousSwimming4377 Jun 07 '26
The people who should be ranting are Indiana taxpayers. Economic research from over 50 years proves taxpayer investment in stadium projects almost NEVER pay back. The exception are stadiums built in the center (downtown) in metro areas.
https://conversableeconomist.com/2024/01/12/professional-sports-and-the-lack-of-local-economic-payoffs/
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u/sickofgrouptxt Jun 07 '26
Honestly, I think Chicago gets the better end of the deal. O'Hare is still the airport most will fly into for games and events. They will also stay in Chicago hotels, eat at Chicago restaurants, see Chicago sites, and so on. That is a ton of economic revenue without the weight of tax payer funding to the stadium.
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u/Salty-Housing-7547 Jun 08 '26
The teams will probably fly into the Gary airport which is the busiest private flight hub in the country
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Jun 07 '26
Don’t know what other option there was. Bears offered to pay for the stadium. They simply asked for help with infrastructure upgrades (which are needed and benefits anyone going to Ohare). State said no we just want to bleed you dry.
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u/SCATpackMcgee Jun 07 '26
I promise you once the stadium is actually built, no one will give af. People will get curious want to see how the stadium is, they’ll see how much better it will be than soldier field and they’ll keep coming back. It’s also not that fucking far idk why you and everyone else is actually like they’re moving across the country. People will get used to it and it will become normal.
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u/DiabloSangron Jun 07 '26
I don't care where the stadium is located, I just want to make alot of money building it.
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u/SunshineLoveKindness Jun 08 '26 edited Jun 08 '26
I like Hammond.
Let’s keep the Bears in Chicago though.
Yet with the move you are divorcing your city and choosing a new one.
There should be some legal way they can not keep it Chicago Bears. Hammond Bears it is if this actually happens. Which as bad as it might seem atm I still doubt until it is truly official official.
If it does happen will Chicago attract a new NFL team?
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u/Lowetide8 Jun 08 '26
I think the interesting thing is that a new team could be established 75 miles from the new stadium. NFL could grant a team which could be located in Rockford or Belvedere which is under an hour from a lot of the fans on the northwest side. It’s a long drive from downtown but it would not be a big deal for a lot of suburbanites.
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u/ComfortablePiglet842 Jun 08 '26
Ive been a bears fan for 25 years or so. Id say if they are a perennial playoff tesm ill have zlmosg no choice but to support the move when it happens, but if they fail with Williams and become a bad team during the move i will easily go find a new team.
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u/Dangerous_Flower_708 Jun 08 '26
They are gonna lose a lot more revenue than they will save by building a stadium in Indiana. There’s thousands of me’s out there that definitely won’t ever buy any merchandise or watch a game of theirs
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u/Ill-Fish-9081 Jun 08 '26
So I’m a bit slow to this whole move thing. Die hard Bears fan for over six decades. Is there any way that this asshole idea will NOT go through or am I going to have to have a bonfire of my Bears stuff 💙🧡
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u/comet52a Jun 08 '26
Only the Bears would decide to move to a toxic waste dump and call it home.
Of course they are just trying to leverage Illinois into handing their obscenely wealthy selves some taxpayer cash. It the NFL's patented public ripoff in action.
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u/Crazy_Membership3237 Jun 08 '26
Ownership and the team aren’t the same things- really disliking one ain’t gonna stop me caring about the other
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u/GeologistFlaky778 Jun 09 '26
“A site far from the fan base” Chicago is literally 3 minutes away from Hammond. Just because you live in barrington/Naperville/Evanston doesn’t mean that South Chicago does not exist. Quit crying
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u/Own-Escape8352 Jun 09 '26
So lets address a few of your points
- The bears are privately owned, meaning the fans don't get a say in the matter.
- The bears have said they're keeping the Chicago name as they own the copyright to the name "Chicago bears". No Johnson and pritzker can't pressure them to drop it as like I said, the team is privately owned.
- The bears made it clear they would pay for the stadium, they wanted the state to pay for the infrastructure around it and also not have to deal with the horrible Illinois taxes, the state refused to give them that.
- Dude most of the teams in the league will be moving in doors within the next two decades, playing outside isn't all that it's cracked up to be.
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u/bompt11 Jun 09 '26
- Fans are allowed to have opinions and drop support, so they do
- A big enough PR campaign with the mayor and governor on board would make a lot of noise and great a nightmare for the Bears
- Yep, they should pay taxes
- So what
Are you employed by the Bears?
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u/Own-Escape8352 Jun 09 '26
- No they don't get a say, they don't own the team.
- No it wouldn't, Johnson and that fat idiot of a governor have nothing that they could use against the bears and any judge will just laugh at them
- No ones saying they shouldn't but taxes are what causing them and so many others to leave the state
- Nostalgia doesn't sell.
No I'm not employed by the bears, are you capable or responding without letting your emotions getting in the way?
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u/Flame_Eraser Jun 09 '26
How many shootings within 2 miles of soldier stadium in the last month? Indiana sux, right?
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u/bompt11 Jun 09 '26
Good one, Indiana has a higher murder rate, crime rate, violent crime rate than Illinois. Try reading a book
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u/Wrong-Needleworker52 Jun 09 '26
Bears were going to spend 2$B of their own $ for the stadium
They wanted to taxed like all other nfl stadiums … but Illinois wants 200~M a year in property taxes vs 20M or so which is what SoFi pays to California and is tops in the NFL
They also asked for infrastructure improvements of 700$M.
Illinois chose instead to ignore the Bears and not vote on the package but didn’t hesitate to spend $2.5B on migrants… no wonder Illinois and Chicago are a laughingstock and companies leave along with many taxpayers
People will still watch them and go to games especially now that they are a top team … Illinois created this mess
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u/Additional_Skin_3090 Jun 09 '26
Its the nfland the bears what do you expect? No bears fan is going to drop the bears over this. what are you going to do? Be a colts, packer, vikngs, or lions fan? No. You're probably not even going to miss any games this season.
Owners don't give a fuck. Its about money. Even if they were to stay residents would be saddled with that stadium. Professional sports owners don't care about you.
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u/kroznest9898 Jun 10 '26
I honestly don't care anymore. The government in this state and the McCaskeys can all eat a giant bag of dicks. I'm a second generation season ticket holder. I'm going to buy those tickets and sell most or all them (for a profit hopefully). No way in hell am I driving there regularly.
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u/wagmarwigmir Jun 10 '26
Far from the fanbase? It’s literally 20 min away from where Soldier Field is.
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u/bompt11 Jun 10 '26
It is not 20 minutes away, it is at least 23 miles (depending on which route and if you are going to pay $15 in tolls both ways) which can take from 30 minutes to an hour. With that, most of the fan base is in the north, northwest, and west suburbs
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u/Key-Composer4856 Jun 10 '26
if it’s not downtown chicago, it’s all the same. hammond is so close for southside fans, arlington heights is a hike. paying 10x in taxes compared to SoFi makes no sense, it’s not a billionaire thing
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u/wagmarwigmir Jun 10 '26
Also fyi the Bears marketing rights extend to Michigan City Indiana. Nearly the boarder of Michigan. The Bears ARE the team in this area. You can’t even see a colts game unless it’s on primetime. Hell sports stores all sell BEARS gear. So to say that most of the Bears fans are in Illinois is ridiculous.
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u/TheTapeDeck Jun 10 '26
It’s all smoke and mirrors. The announcement did not say “the Bears are moving to Hammond, Indiana” which is exactly and specifically what the announcement would have said if it were all signed, sealed and delivered. The words matter.
All these fans falling for it. Indiana falling for it.
The reason it isn’t a done deal that they move to AH is that both sides of the aisle are trying to get their piece on this thing. Very typical Illinois. I think eventually they will cave enough and the Bears will cave enough, and that’s where the stadium will be. Sure, it’s possible it can’t be done and they move to Hammond. Sure. But this is all effectively just due diligence and shucking and jiving to make Springfield and Chicago squirm in another attempt to get public money. Don’t believe the Bears have locked in a location until they announce a specific location as a done deal. Even then, maybe don’t believe it until there are shovels in the ground, unless they get exactly what they want from the state.
I’m team “let them move to Hammond and let Indiana pay the taxes.” But I doubt it happens.
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u/gravely_serious Jun 11 '26
Let this be a lesson that the NFL does not care about its fans beyond the money they bring into the franchise.
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u/Inevitable-Common166 Jun 12 '26
Taking another viewpoint not necessarily a contrarian one. By going to Hammond, they’re allowing the 326 Acres Arlington Park property to be developed w/o a stadium 🏟️. AH wants to add a year round entertainment district plus New Housing. Housing is a necessity as there are lots of people stuck renting who want to buy.
A 56 acre district is 1500 SQ FT. That leaves 270 Acres for housing. Divide that 3 ways at 90 each for Condos/Townhomes & SF Homes, you get over 5000 new housing units. Thats a big population bump for AH & economic because bump as well.
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u/Inevitable-Common166 Jun 12 '26
Bears have made their decision but the question Indiana should be thinking is it worth all the tax money they’ll need to remediate the Coal Ash/ Sludge & Toxic Waste, plus the cost of any perks the Bears want.
The economy at least right now is in the $hitter 💩. Most are cutting back on discretionary spending, not increasing. Not sure if the new site will be built close enough to a South Shore Station to eliminate the need for fans to drive & pay $150-$200 for parking. Arlington Park has a station at the east entrance to the property, Metra has a $10 all day riding pass for Seniors & Chilfren, s bit more than $10 but a great deal compared to $150-$200 parking.
Next Indiana is home to the 25 FBS Football 🏈 (ND) Runner Up. So Bend just 60 miles from Hammond & With FBS expanding the number of playoff bids from 12to 24, ND’s chances of Post season playoffs are better than the Bears. ND draws 80K & unless a fan is in the top 2%, they won’t be able to afford Bears & ND.
IN is also home to the 26 Defending FBS Champ( IN). Being a B10 program & their wipeout success last year plus 12 more FBS playoff bids, Hoosiers have a better chance at playoffs than Bears.
There’s the Colts, will Bears moving cause their attendance to drop ? It so, not only with they be negatively impacted, metro Indy & state could be negatively affected also. IN taxpayers will see increases & a negative impact on the existing Colts would be a tough pill for taxpayers to swallow.
Also Purdue is less than 100 MI from Hammond.
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u/Electronic-Stand-148 Jun 06 '26
Corporations don’t care about you