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“Both of the sites are excellent sites,” Warren said.
The storied Bears want to leave historic Soldier Field, where
they’ve played for more than half a century. Indiana lawmakers
are attempting to lure them from the Windy City with a plan to
finance and build a domed stadium in Hammond, about 25 miles
from their current home on Lake Michigan’s shore.
The Illinois General Assembly has responded with legislation
that would give tax breaks to so-called megaprojects of at least
$100 million, a plan that would encompass the Bears’ proposal to
build a complex on a 326-acre tract of land they own in
Arlington Heights, about the same distance from Soldier Field as
Hammond. The team had hoped to start construction on the site of
a former horseracing track in 2025.
Chairman George McCaskey acknowledged crossing state lines would
be an adjustment for fans. But he pointed to the New York Giants
and Jets as examples of teams that made successful moves.
“Somehow, the republic has survived,” McCaskey said. “When the
Bears moved from Wrigley Field to Soldier Field, it required an
adjustment. When we went to Champaign (while Soldier Field was
renovated in 2002), it required an adjustment. And whether we go
to Arlington Park or to Hammond, there is going to be an
adjustment period."
The Bears, a charter NFL franchise, have played in Illinois
since their founding in 1920 as the Decatur Staleys. Since
moving to Chicago in 1921, the Bears have never owned their
stadium, whether playing at Wrigley Field from 1921 to 1970 or
Soldier Field since then.
Before Indiana started trying to lure them, the Bears' focus for
a new home had fluctuated from Arlington Heights to the Chicago
lakefront, and then back to the suburb. They had said they plan
to pay for the stadium construction on the site of a former
racetrack about 30 miles northwest of their longtime home at
Soldier Field, though they would need assistance to complete the
project.
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