Gary may not end up as the home of the Chicago Bears despite a second bid in the last 30 years to lure the team across the state line. The NFL's oldest franchise is reportedly closer to striking a deal to stay in Illinois.
But pitching stadium sites to the Chicago Bears has generated a significant amount of interest from developers, Mayor Eddie Melton said. The media attention has sparked interest in other potential projects in the Steel City.
"We had the audacity to recommend ourselves as the new home of the Chicago Bears," Melton said at his fireside chat at the Hard Rock Casino in Gary on Tuesday. "I'm a man of faith. You have not because you ask not. A closed mouth doesn't get fed."
Gary pitched sites near the Hard Rock Casino, in Buffington Harbor and at Miller Beach.
The city has had to make significant progress to reach the point where it can make a pitch for the Bears.
"You have to do the practical things to grow again to make a pitch of this audacity and have the ability to make it work and make it happen," Melton said. "We have the infrastructure, the amenities and the foundation. Gary is the best location, but if the Bears choose to remain in Illinois, that's on the team. It's a sound business decision to come here. We're working with the governor and the Indiana General Assembly. I don't know how Illinois can beat our offer."
Gary has pitched a mixed-use district with retail and entertainment, such as by the Hard Rock Casino in what it's calling the West End Entertainment District.
"The Bears could choose to go in another location, and we wouldn't be upset," Melton said. "We still have a unique opportunity to grow and build. Because we had the audacity to say we can make something happen, the phones have been ringing off the hook. People are looking at Gary in a different light. If the Bears don't come, we can bring in transportation, logistics tourism along the lakefront. That's because of the audacity of our vision and the plan we presented."
The Bears have looked at a site near Wolf Lake in Hammond. Mayor Thomas McDermott Jr. said the Hammond site was the only one the team was considering after reviewing several potential sites in Northwest Indiana. Portage pitched what it dubbed Halas Harbor at a 300-acre site by the Burns Waterway. Iowa lawmakers also have been putting together a package to try to lure the Bears to the Hawkeye State.
Rolling Meadows Mayor Lara Sanoica and residents of the northwest suburbs rallied Wednesday to encourage Illinois lawmakers to pass the Mega Projects Bill to bring the Bears to Arlington Heights, where they already spent $200 million to buy the former Arlington Park Racetrack. They have said tens of thousands of jobs and billions of dollars in investment were at risk of going to Indiana, given the state's aggressive pursuit of the Bears.
"Rolling Meadows doesn't just neighbor the stadium site — the roads and infrastructure that make a project like this work come right through our city," said Sanoica. "We have the skilled workforce, the business ecosystem, and the regional base to win this investment. What we need is for Springfield to give us the tools to compete."
The Bears have sought property tax certainty before pursuing a $5 billion stadium and mixed-use stadium village, fearing increased assessments could cause their property tax bill to balloon.
"We have wasted too much time while Indiana has moved with speed and purpose," said Sanoica. "The Chicago region has everything it needs to win this project. We have the workforce, the infrastructure, and the will. What we cannot afford is to lose simply because another state acted while we hesitated."
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