Three decades after first nearly luring the Chicago Bears away from Soldier Field, Gary is making another run at bringing one of the NFL's original franchises to the Steel City, after the Bears announced they were widening their stadium search to include Northwest Indiana and Indiana lawmakers began work on an incentive package.
This time, Gary is pitching three different sites — one just off Interstate 80/94 by the Hard Rock Casino, another in Buffington Harbor on Lake Michigan and a third in Miller Beach next to the Indiana Dunes National Park.
On the cusp of the team's playoff game against the Los Angeles Rams, the city of Gary announced Friday a "strategic roadmap" for luring the Bears that it dubbed "Chosen in 1994. Ready in 2026."
“Back in 1994, the Chicago Bears saw potential in Gary, and we have never forgotten that vote of confidence,” Mayor Eddie Melton said in a press release announcing the strategy. “Thirty years later, Gary is even better positioned. Gary’s proposal gives the Bears the tax certainty and stability that the organization says is key to success."
In 2023, the Bears spent $200 million to buy the former Arlington Park horse racing track in Arlington Heights in the northwest suburbs, where many of its season ticket holders live. But the project has stalled after the Bears sought $855 million in infrastructure from the state, including roads and rail access to its proposed stadium and entertainment district, and a mega projects bill from the Illinois legislature that would freeze its property tax assessment, so the team wouldn't be saddled with a property tax bill some have estimated could be as high as $100 million to $200 million a year.
The Bears have been investigating a potential site by Wolf Lake in Hammond, and Indiana lawmakers proposed a bill that would provide upfront public funding to a $2 billion stadium which the Bears would pay back via lease-to-buy payments. Bears President Kevin Warren hailed the legislation as a "significant milestone for advancing productive talks."
Gary said Indiana would offer the Bears "the strongest business case in the history of the franchise," "a financial framework that Illinois simply cannot match" and "a pathway for the team to control its own destiny without the prohibitive tax burdens and stalled infrastructure talks currently seen in Illinois."
“A move to Gary isn’t just about a building; it’s about building a dynasty," Melton said. "There’s a reason we call this region Chicagoland. Gary is just 30 minutes from downtown Chicago — closer than Arlington Heights — minutes from the Gary/Chicago International Airport and uniquely positioned with waterfront views straight to Chicago’s skyline. No other location offers this combination of proximity, identity alignment and iconic visual connection to Chicago. Unlike Arlington Heights, we have support of local, county and state leaders.”
In the 1990s, Gary pitched the Planet Park mixed-use development by Lake Michigan that would have included restaurants, retail, hotels and other attractions. The project ultimately failed after the Lake County Council rejected a county income tax that would have provided public funding, leading the Bears to instead build more luxury suites during renovations at Soldier Field.
Gary is now touting its proximity to downtown Chicago and being connected via the South Shore Line, Interstate 80/94 and Interstate 90 via the Chicago Skyway, as well as having the Gary/Chicago International Airport and Gary Public Transit.
It is floating the potential of a waterfront stadium in Buffington Harbor, a beachfront stadium in Miller Beach it says would "offer a stadium experience unlike any other in the NFL" and a location next to Hard Rock, Indiana's highest grossing casino, in what it's calling the Gary West End Entertainment District.
“The media has asked if Gary is serious. Our answer is in the legislation and on the map,” Gary Common Council President Linda Barnes-Caldwell said in the city's press release. “We are not just offering land; we are offering a partner who moves at the speed of business. With the backing of the Statehouse and the specific tools provided by Senate Bill 27, we are ready to break ground while others are still breaking promises.”
The city has created a website for its proposal at bearstadiumdistrict.com.
© Copyright 2026, nwitimes.com, Munster, IN