Bears 2026

[Boilernation]

5 minutes ago, Muda69 said:

Let’s hope the Chicago Bears stay in Illinois:

https://indianacapitalchronicle.com/2026/07/20/lets-hope-the-chicago-bears-stay-in-illinois/

Agreed.  A Chicago Bears stadium in Indiana is a losing proposition for Hoosier taxpayers. 

 

Meh, I stopped reading when the author claimed the Bears are trying to get Illinois to build them a stadium. If you can't get that little piece of information correct, how can I trust the rest of your claims? 

 

[Muda69]

35 minutes ago, Boilernation said:

Meh, I stopped reading when the author claimed the Bears are trying to get Illinois to build them a stadium. If you can't get that little piece of information correct, how can I trust the rest of your claims? 

 

So the Bears are now paying 100% of the stadium construction, either in Indiana or Illinois?  If so do you have a link to this recent information?

 

[Boilernation]

2 hours ago, Muda69 said:

So the Bears are now paying 100% of the stadium construction, either in Indiana or Illinois?  If so do you have a link to this recent information?

 

I doubt that's the case in Indiana, but it's always been about Illinois covering infrastructure costs for roads/sewers as well as property tax certainty.  The Bears have always maintained they would pay 100% of the stadium construction in Arlington Heights. 

Here's a link where it was mentioned in the Arlington Heights section of the article.

https://www.fox32chicago.com/sports/chicago-bears-stadium-whats-next-hammond-arlington-heights-chicago

[Muda69]

15 hours ago, Boilernation said:

I doubt that's the case in Indiana, but it's always been about Illinois covering infrastructure costs for roads/sewers as well as property tax certainty.  The Bears have always maintained they would pay 100% of the stadium construction in Arlington Heights. 

Here's a link where it was mentioned in the Arlington Heights section of the article.

https://www.fox32chicago.com/sports/chicago-bears-stadium-whats-next-hammond-arlington-heights-chicago

Thank you for the link.  From the article:

Quote

According to a team consultant report released in the fall of 2025, the Bears said the state will need to pay about $855 million in infrastructure costs to improve the roads and sewer systems for the former Arlington Racecourse site. The team is willing to pay $2 billion of its own money for actual construction of the new stadium.

The Bears should be paying ALL the infrastructure costs, either in Illinois or Indiana.  It is their stadium after all.  Although the "willing" in that last statement is telling. It's basically saying we'll take whatever taxpayer sugar either state is willing to throw our way for construction costs.  

[Coach Nowlin]

Easty Contract extension for Darnell Wright.  Well Done Poles 

 

Buy ALL the Lurther and Colston Stock 1!!!    SORRY Rome 

[Boilernation]

On 7/22/2026 at 8:04 AM, Muda69 said:

Thank you for the link.  From the article:

The Bears should be paying ALL the infrastructure costs, either in Illinois or Indiana.  It is their stadium after all.  Although the "willing" in that last statement is telling. It's basically saying we'll take whatever taxpayer sugar either state is willing to throw our way for construction costs.  

I have no problem admitting Indiana is going to give them a sweetheart deal if they build in Hammond. But, I still believe it will be Arlington Heights. I get that the infrastructure costs are steep, but what is the tradeoff? Just leave a massive piece of real estate in a prime area sitting empty and not pumping out any sales taxes and very minimal real estate taxes? If the Bears do build elsewhewre and sell the property, whoever buys it is going to also ask for some sort of infrastructure put in, whether it be turned into residential or commercial property.

 

[Boilernation]

53 minutes ago, Coach Nowlin said:

Easty Contract extension for Darnell Wright.  Well Done Poles 

 

Buy ALL the Lurther and Colston Stock 1!!!    SORRY Rome 

Agreed. Luther and Colston are the future. I heard Booker has looked very good so far in camp. Same for Jaylon Johnson. 

[Coach Nowlin]

overall Team speed goal improvement was accomplished and then some:  that seems to be the biggest take away for me so far it seems.    

[Muda69]

13 hours ago, Boilernation said:

I have no problem admitting Indiana is going to give them a sweetheart deal if they build in Hammond. But, I still believe it will be Arlington Heights. I get that the infrastructure costs are steep, but what is the tradeoff? Just leave a massive piece of real estate in a prime area sitting empty and not pumping out any sales taxes and very minimal real estate taxes? If the Bears do build elsewhewre and sell the property, whoever buys it is going to also ask for some sort of infrastructure put in, whether it be turned into residential or commercial property.

 

Build a large data center on the side, with solar panels on the roof. 

 

[Coach Nowlin]

you got him good Tooney !!!!     2 years later.....  That "Rook" probably was right then and we know he was NOW

 

 

 

[Irishman]

Cannot argue about someone saying clean up the locker room. Us old coaches know the correlation. It's a mindset; attention to the most minute details. 

[Coach Nowlin]

RACK IT !!!!!

[Muda69]

https://www.nbcchicago.com/news/sports/nfl/chicago-bears/bears-owner-gives-updates-on-indiana-stadium-site-arlington-heights/3973125/

Quote

The Chicago Bears are busy gearing up for the new NFL season, but off the field their quest for a new stadium continues to make headlines.

As the team gathered at Stevenson High School for a walk-through practice on Monday, team Chairman George McCaskey spoke briefly to media, and was asked about the process the Bears are going through as they try to get a new domed stadium built either in Indiana or in Illinois.

Currently the team is focusing its efforts on Indiana, and when asked about that process, McCaskey said there could be new information coming out soon about the location of that proposed project.

“We’re doing some due diligence on a second site in Hammond,” he said. “I think Kevin (Warren) and I will have more to report in the coming days.”

After a so-called “PILOT” bill failed to pass the Illinois General Assembly before the conclusion of the legislative session, the Bears announced that they were focusing their stadium efforts on sites in northwest Indiana. There, state officials had paved the way for the project by promising up to $1 billion and a host of other incentives to convince the team to move across the border and to build a new stadium, likely in an area near Hammond.

While McCaskey did not specify the site the team is eyeballing, NBC Chicago’s Mary Ann Ahern reported last month the Bears were looking at a site known as Wolf Lake Terminals in Hammond. The location is just to the west of Interstate 90 and to the southwest of Lost Marsh Golf Course, and is situated just to the east of the Illinois-Indiana state line.

 

Soil samples were taken from the area and were analyzed, and officials are hopeful that environmental issues encountered at other locations in Hammond will be addressed by shifting the project closer to the state line, with that site just 19 miles from downtown Chicago.

Indiana Gov. Mike Braun, who signed the bill earlier this year aimed at luring the Bears to the state, is continuing to publicly express confidence in the chances of getting the deal finalized.

“I’d say we’re in the red zone. I’ve done so much real estate in my career. Until you ink it, it’s not done, but it’s moved a long distance in a short period of time,” he said during a recent event at Valparaiso.

As the Bears prepare to potentially release more information about the Indiana project site, McCaskey was asked if there was any movement in Illinois, with the team still owning the property of the former Arlington International Racecourse in Arlington Heights.

“No,” he said.

Illinois lawmakers had discussed potentially convening a special session of the legislature, with one of the potential items of debate being a bill aimed at keeping the Bears within the state. That has not yet occurred, and it’s unclear whether Chicago lawmakers will be onboard with an effort to have the Bears build a stadium in the suburbs.

 

 

[Boilernation]

55 minutes ago, Muda69 said:

https://www.nbcchicago.com/news/sports/nfl/chicago-bears/bears-owner-gives-updates-on-indiana-stadium-site-arlington-heights/3973125/

 

Interesting. The site listed in Hammond is where I believe everyone presumed it would be. I'm not sure where else in Hammond would work unless they buyout existing neighborhoods. Nonetheless, I would still bet on Illinois politicians eventually giving in and hte Bears building in Arlington Heights. 

[Boilernation]

Hate hearing Luther will be out for about a month with a groin injury. He could be back in time for the opener in Charlotte. On a positive side, I heard Cowherd raving yesterday about what he saw from watching a closed Bears process a few days ago. His impressions are in line with everything I'm hearing on ESPN Chicago. The offense is looking is VERY good. Caleb lost 15 pounds and is even more mobile. More importantly, his accuracy has been great and and plays are getting ran much quicker into the playclock. 

Granted, it's just practice, but all reports indicated the offense looked awful throughout training camp last year.

Edited Tuesday at 04:00 PM by Boilernation

[Coach Nowlin]

On 8/11/2026 at 10:55 AM, Boilernation said:

Hate hearing Luther will be out for about a month with a groin injury. He could be back in time for the opener in Charlotte. On a positive side, I heard Cowherd raving yesterday about what he saw from watching a closed Bears process a few days ago. His impressions are in line with everything I'm hearing on ESPN Chicago. The offense is looking is VERY good. Caleb lost 15 pounds and is even more mobile. More importantly, his accuracy has been great and and plays are getting ran much quicker into the playclock. 

Granted, it's just practice, but all reports indicated the offense looked awful throughout training camp last year.

Buy all Bears O 

[Muda69]

Is today the day!?!?!?!?!?!?  :  https://abc7chicago.com/post/nfl-news-chicago-bears-expected-give-stadium-update-indiana-officials-express-confidence-hammond-site/19669629/

Quote

 Chicago Bears executives are expected to deliver an update Thursday on the team's stadium plans, which officials in Indiana say continue to center on Hammond where there is ongoing due diligence at multiple locations.

Indiana leaders remain optimistic, with Governor Mike Braun saying his administration is in weekly contact with the team and confident the Bears will ultimately choose the Hoosier state.

A crew conducted soil testing Wednesday at one of several Hammond sites under consideration for a new stadium complex. Tire tracks and utility flags were visible in a marshy area near the Wolf Lake Terminal, where additional testing took place earlier this summer.

 

Hammond Mayor Tom McDermott said the activity reflects the team's ongoing evaluation. "And I do know there's extensive testing going on. Even right now, I had one of the local businesses in the new footprint call me and say, 'Hey, they're they're boring holes currently.' So that's the issue of the day between us and the Bears," he said.

Braun, who visited Hammond to assess storm damage, reiterated his confidence in the project. "When we get this across the finish line, we're in the due diligence stage. It's going to be one of the biggest things that's ever occurred to our state, not to mention the region. So we're doing everything you need to do to make sure we get it done," he said. The governor added that the process could take a few more months.

McDermott said he was told the Bears plan to make an announcement Thursday.

"I was told from the Bears, that there would be an announcement tomorrow," he said. "But maybe I'm not presuming anything. I'm hopeful it's going to be good news."

Team sources downplayed the significance of the update, describing it as the Bears' usual pre-season availability with Chairman George McCaskey and President Kevin Warren.

Meanwhile, Illinois House Speaker Emanuel "Chris" Welch said discussions continue on the Illinois side of the border. "I do not believe there will be a special session for the Bears. I don't believe there will be a special session," Welch said. "Our goal is to continue to have the conversations, get to something substantive, and if we can get that done, it would be done in veto session."

With site testing still underway in Hammond, the Bears appear to be seriously weighing an Indiana stadium option. What remains unclear is how much detail team executives plan to reveal in Thursday's update.

 

[Muda69]

https://www.indystar.com/story/sports/nfl/2026/08/13/chicago-bears-update-new-stadium-plans-hammond-arlington-heights--live/91288540007/

Quote

The Chicago Bears held a press conference Thursday afternoon to discuss an update on the team's continued search for a new stadium plan -- one that has famously included both Hammond, Ind., near Wolf Lake, as well as Arlington Heights in Illinois outside Chicago.

The team currently plays at the famed Soldier Field in downtown Chicago, but the franchise has scrapped plans to refurbish its current stadium as it looks to catch up with the numerous new modernized stadiums that have cropped up around the NFL over the last decade-plus.

Bears president Kevin Warren declined to give a timeline on either a final decision for where the Bears will put down their roots for their new stadium and when that project will break ground.

"The target is the right time. We'll know when it is," he said. "But we're making very, very good progress.

"It's time to bring this to a close."

Chicago Bears president Kevin Warren told reporters that the franchise's "sole focus at this point in time" is continuing to pursue building a "world-class" stadium in Hammond, Ind. Warren said the franchise's due diligence on its Lost Marsh site has been completed, but that work is on-going at the Wolf Lake Terminal site.

He said there's a chance the two sites could be used together as they not only build a stadium but a "world-class, mixed-use" site that goes beyond just playing football.

 

Come on Illinois legislature, make the citizens you represent pay for this boondoggle and not Hoosiers.