Apr 02, 2026
3 min read
He believes that fans will pass, too, saying, "I don't think, in the end, it will matter to people."
PHOENIX - Bears fans better wrap their minds around a team headed to Indiana.George McCaskey is already there.
Tradition and legacy are very important to McCaskey, the grandson of Bears president and George Halas, and the team has been in his family for more than a century.But as plans for a stadium in Hammond, Indiana, get more serious, he's comfortable with moving the team from Illinois and betting the fan base will overcome initial opposition to the idea.
"I don't think, at the end of the day, it's going to matter to people," he said Wednesday at the end of the NFL's annual meeting."In 1976, the New York Giants football team crossed the state line into New Jersey. They have been there ever since. The Jets joined them shortly after. Thirty-five years later, both teams have had the opportunity to reevaluate their careers and return to New Jersey."
"Somehow, the Republic survived."
It's a clear response to fans who were outraged last December when president Kevin Warren went public with the idea of building a stadium in northwest Indiana for a big game against the Packers.
The Bears have played at Soldier Field since 1971, interrupted only by a season at the University of Illinois during renovations, and they were at Wrigley Field for 50 years before that.They've had nearly the entire history, which made a potential move to the old Arlington Park Racetrack site in Arlington Heights a little difficult for some to accept, let alone a move out of state.
Again, if that happens, the Bears’ message is get over it.
"Whether we go to Arlington Park or Hammond, there's going to be an adjustment period," McCaskey said."It's giving people some time to get used to it. I think Bears fans are ready."
There was no news in the arena when McCaskey and Warren spoke Wednesday morning.There were explorations, such as McCaskey's comments about the potential move to Indiana and his excitement about his family borrowing $2 billion to build, but nothing about the actual move.
This is a story in itself.June will mark five years since the Bears began the process — Matt Nagy and Justin Fields were on the team — and they still can't say what state they'll build the stadium in.
Warren expressed no disappointment at the slow pace, maintaining that the Bears are "in a great position" with two very attractive options despite the delay.
The Bears own 326 acres in Arlington Heights and want to buy 340 acres from Hammond.They have the necessary legislative approval in Indiana, but don't have any properties there yet.In Illinois, it's the other way around, as they seek a tax guarantee from the state legislature, whose session ends on May 31.
It is not coincidental that the day coincides with Warren's statement on Wednesday that the organization wants to make a decision "in early spring, early summer."
Anything that looks like a deadline is, of course, written in pencil.
It seems like the main reason to stop now and not continue toward Indiana is that the Bears would really rather go to Arlington Heights and give it as much time as reasonably possible to materialize.
Warren has repeatedly expressed his belief that the Bears will get "shovels in the ground" by the end of last year, which would set a timeline for opening the stadium in 2028, but that hasn't happened.It's now looking at the 2029 season, and in the meantime the team will continue to play in a building that Commissioner Roger Goodell said is "not at the top of the list" in terms of modern facilities and quality fans.
Perhaps it was a coincidence, but based on McCaskey discussing stadium options with a small group of reporters as Warren sat in the back of the room, he called Arlington Park "shovel-ready."
When the Bears hired Warren to replace Ted Phillips in 2023, his mission was to steer them in the right direction on the field, in business and in the search for a new stadium, but it's widely believed that he was brought in to handle the stadium deal after spearheading the Vikings' stadium project.
The Bears had their best season in more than a decade, going 11-6 and winning a playoff game — business is doing well, too, with a recent Forbes valuation of $8.2 billion — and Warren told the Sun-Times it gives him extra fire to tear down the stadium.
"And we will," he insisted."It's a dream to play a world-class team in a world-class stadium."
If it happens in Indiana, so be it.
It certainly wasn't Plan A, and it still might not be.But the Bears — and, more importantly, McCaskey — are comfortable with it.
Sun-Times Chicago Bears reporter
