It's kinda like New York without the Jets and the Giants -
both of whom play in New Jersey...
The Chicago Bears and Indiana state lawmakers took a big step this morning toward the franchise moving across state lines to build a new stadium near Wolf Lake in Hammond, Indiana.
The city of Hammond held a 4 p.m news conference to discuss a “tentative plan” to bring the Chicago Bears to northwest Indiana. The conference came hours after a proposed amendment pointing to Hammond as the next home of the Bears passed the Indiana House committee unanimously.
Hammond Mayor Thomas McDermott Jr. discussed a billion-dollar proposal that would bring thousands of jobs to the stadium and surrounding facilities, not to mention a significant boost to local businesses. An exact location for the stadium was not revealed.
McDermott announced Hammond is expected to pass an admissions tax that would help pay back the billion dollars. A food and beverage tax would be instituted for Lake and Porter counties, as well as a Lake County inkeeper’s tax for visitors staying locally overnight. McDermott said he did not believe property owners would be directly impacted, as the value of property would proportionately go up.
Earlier this morning, the Bears gave a statement signaling their “vision” to build a stadium in Hammond during a meeting by the Indiana House Ways and Means Committee, which unanimously passed a proposed amendment to Indiana Senate Bill 27 that names Hammond as the location for a new Bears stadium.
The Bears say the amendment’s passage by the full Indiana House of Representatives “would mark the most meaningful step forward in our stadium planning efforts to date.”
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