NFL Transfers & Rumours
NFL Insiders See Chicago Bears Staying Put In Illinois Stadium Push
This photo shows a view of the newly ren by JEFF HAYNES | Getty Images
As SportsBoom has been hearing all along, the Chicago Bears want to get a sweetheart deal to build a new stadium in Arlington Heights, Illinois and not move to Indiana.
But after the issue was not put to a vote by the Illinois legislature, the team has had no choice but to outwardly embrace the possibility of construction across the border in Indiana, a locale they are clearly using for leverage to try to turn the huge parcel of land the owners purchased around an old race track in Arlington into the business district they envision it to be.
“I’m not going to infer that I’m particularly close to this one, or mindful of every detail,” said a long-time high-ranking official of an NFL team that did build a new stadium during his tenure with the team, “but it’s fairly obvious that if the family had a prevailing interest in being in Indiana this wouldn’t be playing out the way it is.”
Indeed.
Tough Talk
The Bears announced they are moving forward with discussions with Indiana officials, and at the same time, it’s becoming obvious they want to do further business with Illinois.
JB Pritzker, governor of Illinois, has been asked about calling for a special session to help get a deal done with the team (the regular session ended May 31). Pritzker is talking tough about the situation, which is being taken in other front offices as him viewing a move to Indiana as something that would be fairly toxic for the Bears to execute, alienating much of their fanbase.
“The Bears would like to see something happen,” Pritzker said at a press briefing, “and we all do, too. The question is, can they do that? And from the beginning there were some fumbles… by the Bears.”
If the Bears want to facilitate a special legislative session to secure funding and oversight for this project in Arlington Heights, they’re likely going to have to change their stance on how much public funding will be provided and how the construction costs will be shared.
Someone is going to have to blink, and it doesn’t appear that it will be politicians in Illinois right now.
Editor's Insight
This feels more like leverage than a genuine relocation path, with Illinois still the most likely outcome if political and funding gaps can be bridged. The Indiana noise has the hallmarks of negotiation pressure rather than intent, but there’s still enough uncertainty in play to keep the market interesting for any relocation or stadium-related betting angles.
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La Canfora has covered over 20 Super Bowls and League Meetings and NFL drafts, building a wide network of sources throughout all aspects of the game. He was an award winning print journalist as well, working at The Detroit Free Press and The Baltimore Sun prior to his first stint at The Washington Post. He has covered sporting events around the world, including two Winter Olympics and all of the 2006 World Cup. He attended his first NFL game in 1978, and would soon kindle what has become a lifelong love and appreciation of the sport. La Canfora is also a professional handicapper, specializing in the NFL, creating a daily sports wagering game show - "Wanna Bet?" He also hosts nationally broadcast NFL radio shows in the US, as well as a daily sports radio show in his hometown of Baltimore, Maryland.