Overview
- The team said Thursday that Hammond, Indiana, is its “sole focus” after completing due diligence at the Lost Marsh site and beginning environmental and topographical testing at the Wolf Lake Terminal site.
- The Bears have pledged roughly $2 billion of private money for the project while Indiana legislators passed a February bill intended to cover about 60% of development costs.
- Negotiations with Illinois have stalled because the Bears say there is no written offer from the state while Governor JB Pritzker says the team has not presented a bill the legislature can act on.
- NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell has met privately with select Illinois lawmakers and the league will have to review and approve any cross‑state stadium decision.
- Key next steps are finishing Wolf Lake studies, resolving Department of Defense land ownership questions if needed, finalizing the capital stack and securing political and league approvals before any site contract is signed, a process local officials say could hit a milestone as soon as September.