The Bears are where we thought they were. How much longer will they be there?
On Sunday, the Bears begin their latest home slate at Soldier Field, the stadium into which they moved permanently in 1971. (In 2002, they spent a year at the University of Illinois as the building was being renovated.) They’re actively trying to move out.
And the uncertainty as to where, and when, they’ll have a new home continues. Indiana is ready to go. But the Bears are still trying to parlay a potential Hammond home into an Illinois alternative.
As recently reported by Brenden Moore of Capitol News Illinois, via Sports Business Journal, the Bears executive leading the stadium effort met with Illinois Deputy Governor Andy Manar in August. Bears executive V.P. of stadium development and COO Karen Murphy was joined by minority owner Pat Ryan for the meeting with Manar. Meanwhile, Axios has reported that Chicago mayoral candidate Willie Wilson has been pushing for a new domed stadium in Chicago. The Bears have been pushing property they own in Arlington Heights as the preferred Illinois location.
These developments do nothing to change the perception that Indiana’s pipe dream is leverage for a new stadium in Illinois. If anything, they reinforce the idea that the Bears are simply posturing when they claim to be focused on Hammond.
The involvement of Ryan is also significant. With team president and CEO Kevin Warren’s strategies not yielding a solution, Ryan and his son, Pat Ryan Jr., could be trying to influence the stalled stadium pursuit.
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