Indiana’s Bid for Chicago Bears Gains Momentum with Senate Vote
STATEWIDE — The Chicago Bears might not be packing their bags yet — but Indiana’s bid for the team picked up momentum Wednesday after senators approved legislation creating a state-run stadium authority that could finance and build a National Football League stadium in northwest Indiana.
Senate Bill 27, authored by Sen. Ryan Mishler, R-Mishawaka, advanced to the House in a 46-2 vote. Only Sens. Liz Brown, R-Fort Wayne, and Gary Byrne, R-Byrneville, voted against the bill.
The proposal establishes the Northwest Indiana Stadium Authority, a public body that would have the power to acquire land, issue long-term bonds and finance the construction of a professional football stadium and related facilities.
It’s the latest step in Indiana’s effort to court the Chicago Bears, who have publicly explored relocating amid stalled negotiations in Illinois over a proposed stadium development in Arlington Heights.
Mishler cautioned that the current draft “just creates the framework” and that “a lot of other details will need to be added” before the legislation could be finalized, including adding local representation to the authority’s board and outlining specific requirements and commitments from participating local governments. Discussions with local leaders are ongoing, he said.
Even so, Gov. Mike Braun praised the Senate’s action, calling it a key step in Indiana’s effort to attract the NFL franchise.
“Indiana is open for business and the Chicago Bears have taken notice,” Braun said in a statement. “The Senate’s passage of SB 27 to establish a Northwest Indiana stadium authority is the next critical step in the right direction to bring the Chicago Bears to the Hoosier state and to grow Indiana’s economy.”
How the deal would work
Senate Bill 27 outlines a stadium authority that would be responsible for acquiring land, constructing the stadium and issuing bonds — with bond maturities of up to 40 years — to finance the project.
The state would own the stadium, while an NFL franchise would lease the facility under a long-term agreement. The bill requires any NFL team leasing the stadium to commit to a lease of at least 35 years.
Bond payments would be made primarily from lease rental payments, which the legislation allows to be funded through local tax revenues, including proceeds from local excise taxes, food and beverage taxes and innkeeper’s taxes. The bill does not specify which local taxes would be used or how much revenue would be pledged, however.
The authority’s three-member board would initially consist of the director of the Indiana Office of Management and Budget or a designee; another OMB appointee, and the state’s public finance director.
Mishler said an additional local representation could be added later as negotiations progress.
The legislation also lays out a lease-back structure common in large public stadium deals. Those terms would allow the authority to finance and own the facility. The team, meanwhile, would operate it, keep revenue from games and non-football events, and be responsible for maintenance and improvements.
At the end of the lease term, the team would have the option to purchase the stadium — either for the cost of any remaining debt or, if the bonds are fully paid off, for $1, as long as conditions in the lease agreement are met.
Courting the Bears
Sen. Lonnie Randolph, D-East Chicago, framed the bill as a potential statewide economic opportunity.
“We don’t get an opportunity like this every day,” he said. “It is a bill that could be beneficial to not just the individual location … but to the entire state of Indiana, period.”
Randolph pointed to the economic and tourism impact of Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis and said a similar dynamic could take hold in northwest Indiana.
“That same kind of benefit could develop in northwest Indiana,” he said. “So we will have a dual effect, and that dual effect will be a dual positive impact.”
While he acknowledged uncertainty about whether a deal ultimately materializes, Randolph said early legislative support still matters.
“The more support that we show for this bill,” he said, “the better chance that reality could very well occur.”
Northwest Indiana leaders — including officials in Gary — have publicly pitched multiple lakefront and casino-adjacent sites as potential locations for a new stadium complex.
House Speaker Todd Huston, R-Fishers, said last week that House Republicans are prepared to take up the bill when it arrives.
“Yes,” Huston said when asked whether there is appetite in the House to create a stadium authority. “When that bill comes over, we’ll work closely with all the stakeholders and see what we can do on that.”
Huston rejected the idea that Indiana is merely being used as leverage in negotiations with Illinois.
“I trusted their word,” he said of conversations with the Bears. “I think we’re sincere in trying to figure out how to get this done.”
Senate President Pro Tem Rodric Bray, R-Martinsville, echoed that optimism, saying lawmakers from northwest Indiana are “excited” about what the project could bring.
“That’s part of bargaining, that’s part of making deals,” Bray said when asked about concerns Indiana could be used as a negotiating tool. “I trust that we will shine. The State of Indiana will shine, and we’ll put together a great package.”
