Bears chairman George McCaskey addresses the media.
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Chairman George McCaskey of the Chicago Bears plans to move the team to Indiana.
After a statement issued by the Chicago Bears on Thursday, the reality appeared to be sinking in for fans of the hallowed franchise. After more than a century of football in Chicago, the Bears will be leaving the Windy City.
At least, the Bears statement certainly made it seem that way. After the Indiana legislature’s House Ways and Means Committee approved a bill that would lead to funding a new stadium in Hammond, Indiana, the statement called the vote the “most meaningful step” in the Bears’ push to move out of 102-year-old Soldier Field — the oldest stadium in the NFL — and into a new, modern facility.
According to Sports Illustrated senior writer Connor Orr, citing “sources close to the situation,” the Bears’ move to Indiana has now become “an inevitability.”
But one columnist who covers the Bears wasn’t buying it. Jobe Morrison of The Big Lead had only harsh words for the Bears and their intended exodus to neighboring Indiana.
“Sure, you can argue that the move is irrelevant, as they will still be ‘close’ to Chicago,” Jobe wrote in a Friday column. “What a slap in the face to a fan base and local economy, though.”
Hammond is 28 miles outside of Chicago, almost exactly the same distance as Arlington Heights, Illinois, the other site the Bears had proposed for a new stadium.
Columnist Calls Bears a ‘Disgrace’
In his Friday column, Jobe did not stop at calling the Bears’ intended move to Indiana a “slap in the face” to Chicago fans.
“Chicago politicians know that this is the end. The Bears are getting what they want at any cost — even if it is their presence in one of America’s most historic cities,” he wrote. “What a disgrace.”
Jobe said that he did not blame the city of Chicago for trying to get the best deal possible, because the cost of a new Bears stadium will fall to the local taxpayers.
“So congrats, Bears ownership. You took your ball and went to your new home,” he continued. “After the Browns and St. Louis Rams lawsuits, you’d think they’d prefer to make something work in Chicago.”
After the Rams moved from St. Louis back to Los Angeles in 2016, the city of St. Louis sued the team and the league. After four years of costly litigation, the city agreed to take a $790 million settlement.
Cleveland, after spending $1.3 million in legal fees, accepted a $100 million settlement last year in its lawsuit to prevent the Browns from moving out of the municipally-owned downtown stadium, Huntington Bank Field, where they now play, to a new location in the suburban community of Brook Park.
Bears in Same Stadium Longer Than Any NFL Team (But One)
Though Soldier Field, opened in 1924 but renovated several times since, stands as the oldest stadium in the NFL, the Bears did not move in there until 1971. Before that, the Bears shared Wrigley Field with MLB’s Chicago Cubs.
Soldier Field was used primarily for college football until then — but the stadium did host NFL football for one season in 1959. That was the final season that the Cardinals played in Chicago before relocating to St. Louis until 1988 when they moved to Arizona.
But only one current NFL franchise has remained in the same home stadium for longer than the 55 years that the Bears have played in Soldier Field. That would be the Green Bay Packers, who have made Lambeau Field their home since the stadium opened in 1957, 69 years ago — though its name was Green Bay City Stadium until 1965.