Boilernation

Jordan Lynch would be a good coach for Purdue to build a relationship with. He is stockpiling D1 talent on Chicago's South Side.

Ok. Fair enough. Hypothetically, lets say the Bears end up building a stadium in Arlington Heights and pay to upgrade all of the roadways around the stadium. Would you be OK with them charging a toll to all drivers who use those roads?

Huh? They are going to privately fund 100% of the cost of the new stadium if they build in Arlington Heights. They just don't want to get raped on property tax and want the state to pay for the infrastructure around the Arlington Heights property. Someone is going to have to pay for it if the Bears sell the property and it's developed into something else. Typically, businesses do not pay for infrastructure upgrades. Would you be pissed if Indiana agreed to pay for major infrastructure upgrades around Frankfort if that meant a major manufacturer was going bring jobs to your town? One thing that article pointed out that has been rumored on Chicago sports radio is that politicians who respresent neighborhoods within the city aren't playing ball down in Springfield, which is complete BS. The Bears shouldn't be strongarmed into paying rent on a stadium they don't own that is also one of, if not the the worst stadium in the NFL. The city/state made a colossal mistake when they decided to renovate Soldier Field as opposed to just building a new stadium. They essentially put lipstick on a pig that has lead to this fiasco. And are those bitter politicians from Chicago going to fight the Friends of The Park who have vowed to prevent a new stadium getting built on the lakefront? They successfully kept George Lucas from building his museum on the lakefront and he had to shift to LA.

Of course not. And I'm not a big fan of difinitive statements as well. Just looking at it objectively, they have a prime piece of property in Arlington Height they own and would like to devlop. I doubt they filed a trademark on the term "Bearadise" just to build a football stadium. They want to own a football stadium and a surrounding entertainment district. And every statement they put out about the idea of moving to Indiana never lists a specific location or timeline for construction. IMO, They'll continue to flirt with Indiana to get Springfield to change some property tax laws that would currently massively over tax the Bears and commit to building up infrastructure around the stadium. The Bears have already said they'll pay for the construction of the stadium in Arlington Heights.

Neuqua Valley is in Naperville as well. They played Chatard at LN in 2016.

Moot point. They'll be building in Arlington Heights. Nonetheless, personally, if I still lived in Porter County, I would be willing to pay a "luxury" tax at restaraunts or hotels to have the Bears play in Hammond. The Toll Road tax will come from more than Indiana residents. The admissions tax will come from those who actually attend the games.

Agreed. Pate is a very intelligent guy. I enjoy his podcasts. That's how I understood it as well. Betting on the game should be the one area EVERYONE agrees has consequences.

Muda, are you a pro union guy? I'm sure the local ironworkers union out of Hammond or Portage is loving this deal if it happens, which is interesting because that union is proud Democrats. I think the toxic waste is just rumors and the main issue will just be how much of Wolf Lake and the surrounding areas will need to be filled in. Sadly, I have a feeling Lost Marsh Golf Course would be used.

Bears still haven't fully committed. I'll believe it when a site is officially picked and construction is announced. But, I'm still betting on Illinois to completely screw this up because of politics. They've given away Milliions in tax payers funds for other reasons recently. Not giving the Bears a fair property tax rate as well as infrastructure upgrades around the property is not about them sticking it to the Billiionaires. It's political turmoil from within, imo. I'm thinking it's 80/20 at this point in favor of Indiana with the Bears ownership practically begging Illinois to cave. They once again crafted a public statement in favor of Indiana without actually committing on going to Indiana.

Is this just a last ditch effort by the Bears to get Illinois to committ to property tax certainty and infrastructure improvements? Conflicting info here, but Cronin is a legit journalist and is well informed when it comes to the Bears.

Technically, they're not even in Chicago in the first place. Halas Hall and the practice fields are in suburban Lake Forest.

Agreed and it likely wasn't intentional. IMO, the Bears would be accepting the Hammond offer this morning if they weren't deadset on building in Arlington Heights. At first I thought Indiana was foolish to get involved since they were likely going to be used. In hindsight, it was a win/win for them. In a matter of a few months they were able to put together a deal that Illinois still hasn't been abled to finalize since the Bears bought the property over 3 years ago. Braun and his buddies jumped at the idea of showing businesses in Illinois how easy it is to get deals done in Indiana.

No arguments from me on the burdens faced by Illinois tax payers, but those are fairlytale numbers in that article. There's not single for pro profit business who is going to buy that land from the Bears or previously Churchill Downs and pay $350M per year in property taxes. I believe at this point New England and Miami both own their own stadiums and pay less than $5M per year in property taxes. Arlington International Racetrack was paying around $9M per year in property taxes before going out of business. For comparison in the business world, All State was paying around $4.7M in property taxes on their massive 186 acre corporate campus in Northbrook, IL, prior to selling it. The article also fails to mention the gain in Sales Taxes that will come from the Arlington property once the Bears fully develop it into an entertainment district. The Bears bought the property. They've already said they'll pay 100% of the cost to build the stadium if they build in Arlington. They just want tax certainty and infrastructure around the property to be increased, which is what any business buying that property for development purposes would ask for. No business is buying that property and gladly accepting a $350M/year tax payment. At that point it would just sit empty.

Nah. I could give two shakes less if you want to waste your day/night arguing hypothetical matchups. Just find it annoying when you want to bash an entire area of HIGH SCHOOL football teams because you don't like that the AP and Coaches Poll voters rate Crown Point and Merrillville high.