Hammond emerges as serious contender for Chicago Bears stadium after land assembly, state backing

Hammond, Indiana, has emerged as a serious contender to host a proposed Chicago Bears stadium after the team announced in June it was moving forward with stadium development plans in Hammond, OutKick reported.

OutKick reported Mayor Thomas McDermott Jr. said the city and state assembled roughly 300 acres at sites under review by the Bears — including the Lost Marsh site and the Lake Terminal site — work he credited to years of cleanup and land-assembly efforts.

McDermott told OutKick that Hammond and Indiana officials have emphasized property tax certainty as an attraction for the team, noting Indiana’s property tax caps are enshrined in the state constitution and that rates are limited to 1%, 2% or 3% depending on classification.

Heather Ennis, president and CEO of the Northwest Indiana Forum, told OutKick the region is a “$52 billion” economy and has seen more than $30 billion in investment commitments in the past 10 months, not counting any Bears-related deal.

OutKick reported Indiana House Speaker Todd Huston was the lead House sponsor of Senate Bill 27, which “passed with ease” and created a funding mechanism for the Northwest Indiana Stadium Authority to build a future stadium in the state, according to Huston’s comments to OutKick.

McDermott told OutKick he has seen unprecedented bipartisan cooperation among federal and state leaders on the effort, and he said Hammond’s existing utilities, highways and rail lines make the area suitable for a project that would serve tens of thousands of fans.

OutKick noted the Bears’ lease at Soldier Field runs through 2033 but that the team can pay a fee to break the lease earlier. The article said Soldier Field is about 40 miles south of the team’s Halas Hall headquarters in Lake Forest and that Hammond is about 20 miles south of the team’s lakefront stadium.

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