(02-24-2026 02:08 PM)Frank the Tank Wrote:  

(02-24-2026 01:43 PM)goofus Wrote:  I wonder if the Bears have looked into each site's potential for attracting mega events like the Super Bowl, Big Ten CCG, CFP NCG and NCAA final 4's.

You would think the Arlington Heights location has a big advantage being closer to OHare.

I guess northwest Indiana would be a shorter drive for some Eastern Big Ten teams but that's the only advantage I could possibly think of.

Whatever people might think of my opinions or personal fandom, I do try to present the view of what I would do if my own actual money or job was on the line in making a decision.

The fact that Arlington Heights is still even being discussed when Indiana is offering effectively a free stadium for the Bears shows that Arlington Heights is a *far* superior location.

The access to people from out-of-town isn’t as relevant as the more immediate demographics surrounding Arlington Heights compared to Hammond. A 30-mile radius from Arlington Heights still covers downtown Chicago and the affluent North Side, O’hare, and the higher income North Shore, Northwest and West Suburbs. It is effectively smack dab in the middle of “Upscale Chicago”. In contrast, a 30-mile radius from Hammond still gets downtown Chicago, but otherwise the generally more economically downscale South Side, South Suburbs, and Northwest Indiana (at least compared to the Arlington Heights radius).

Add on that the Arlington Heights site specifically has the size to support a massive multi-use development - effectively a Bears Town - with its own existing Metra train station means that it is legitimately the single best location that the Bears could ever possibly have in the suburbs. It’s not even a contest.

However, Indiana is offering a straight up free stadium. That is why their bid is competitive and taken seriously. If all things were equal financially, then it’s not even a question that Arlington Heights blows Hammond away from a location standpoint. The fact that the Bears are still willing to spend $2 billion on a stadium in Arlington Heights provided that they get the property tax deal in place with the State of Illinois that they want when Indiana is offering a free stadium in Hammond just shows how much more valuable that Arlington Heights location is by comparison.

I agree that the Indiana deal sounds like a better deal financially although its not clear to me what the Bears would be paying in rent to Indiana per year. My guess is the rent for the Indiana site would be about the same what the Bears would pay in property tax for the Arlington Heights site. Sounds like the Bears are trying to lock in a max of $10M per year property tax.

My AI may be lying to me, but its telling me the Indiana deal is a $5B deal with the Bears still contributing $2B to the project. But I have also heard other people say the Bears are getting the whole thing in Indiana for free. So I dont know what's true, honestly.