Chicago Bears Move Forward With Plan to Move to Different State
The Chicago Bears might leave their long-time city after all.
News broke Thursday morning about the state of Indiana passing legislation to make a new home for the NFL franchise on their side of the state line.
Here is what you need to know.
Indiana passes legislation to woo Bears
When reports came out about the Bears’ interest in a site in northern Indiana in December, the internet had a good laugh.
The Gary Bears! That’s crazy.. right?
Maybe not as much as it seemed at the time.
Thursday morning the team confirmed it is interested in leaving its long-time home on the shores of Lake Michigan in favor of a new stadium in Hammond, Ind.
Statement from the Chicago Bears on a possible stadium development in Hammond, Ind.:
— Adam Hoge (@AdamHoge) February 19, 2026
"The passage of SB 27 would mark the most meaningful step forward in our stadium planning efforts to date. We are committed to finishing the remaining site-specific necessary due diligence to…
That came after the Indiana State Senate passed a bill that would fund a new development, something the Bears have been trying to get from Illinois for quite a while with no success.
Their idea had been to leave the actual city of Chicago for a new sight in the suburb of Arlington Heights, though public funding for that development had reached a snag.
Now long-time Bears reporter Adam Hoge reports for allchgo.com, “A bears move to Indiana is very close to reality.”
Indiana Gov. Mike Braun said in a statement his state “is open for business, and our pro-growth environment continues to attract major opportunities like this partnership with the Chicago Bears.”
Indiana is open for business, and our pro-growth environment continues to attract major opportunities like this partnership with the Chicago Bears. We’ve identified a promising site near Wolf Lake in Hammond and established a broad framework for negotiating a final deal. If…
— Governor Mike Braun (@GovBraun) February 19, 2026
In their own statement, the Bears said passage of state legislation “would mark the most meaningful step forward for our stadium planning efforts to date.”
The club added it is “committed to finishing the remaining site-specific necessary due diligence to support our vision to build a world-class stadium near the Wolf Lake area in Hammond, Indiana.”
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Where is Hammond, Indiana?
Incorporated in 1883, Hammond is in Lake County, Indiana, on the border with Illinois.
It is only about 30 miles southeast of Chicago and shares the shore of Lake Michigan with the Second City.
As of 2020, it was home to about 78,0000 residents, down from more than 100,000 in the 1970s.
It was also an original member of the NFL as home of the Hammond Pros, who were a charter member of the league (which was originally named the American Professional Football Association) formed in 1920.
They went 7-28-4 from 1920-26 but like many of the league’s early franchises did not make the cut when its leaders decided to focus on teams in bigger cities like Chicago and New York.
While the Green Bay Packers endured, smaller cities such as Muncie, Ind., Rochester, N.Y., and Akron, Canton, Dayton and Portsmouth in Ohio lost their teams over the years.
Have the Bears always played in Chicago?
The answer to that question is actually no.
They were founded as the Decatur (Ill.) Staleys in 1920. The Staleys were also an original member of the NFL but moved to Chicago a year later.
Of course, NFL teams relocating is nothing new.
It has happened many times, most recently 2020 when the Raiders left Oakland for Las Vegas.
Prior to that, the San Diego Chargers moved to Los Angeles in 2017, one year after the Rams moved back to LA from St. Louis.
The Rams spent 31 years in Missouri after playing in LA from 1946-1994 — and before that they began as the Cleveland Rams.
Chicago was home to two NFL teams until 1960 when the Cardinals moved to St. Louis (and later Arizona).