Bears fans threatened to renounce their lifelong fandom after the franchise's board of directors voted to advance plans to develop a stadium in Hammond, Indiana
17:14 ET, 05 Jun 2026
Bears fans lashed out after the board of directors advanced plans to move the team to Indiana
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Bears fans lashed out after the board of directors advanced plans to move the team to Indiana(Image: Getty Images)
Bears fans did little to hide their frustration after the franchise’s top brass took one step closer towards leaving Chicago.
On Friday, the Bears announced its board of directors voted to advance plans to develop a new stadium in Hammond, Indiana. The storied team has called Illinois home for 106 years and currently reside in Soldier Field, the NFL’s oldest currently operating stadium.
"Yesterday, the Chicago Bears Board of Directors met and voted to advance our stadium development project in Hammond, Indiana, with the exact site to be selected," Bears chairman George McCaskey and team president and CEO Kevin Warren said in an official statement.
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"We believe a world-class stadium project in Hammond will transform the region, connecting Northwest Indiana to the South Side of Chicago through the Loop and across neighborhoods and suburbs stretching north of the city. It will bring Chicagoland together and deliver new opportunities to its residents and businesses."
Taking to social media, lifelong Bears supporters swiftly threatened to renounce their fandom should the franchise cross over the state line into northwest Indiana. “Never watching a game again,” one X user wrote. “Indiana is not Chicagoland. Ask any person from Chicago. If you are outside the city limits you are not from Chicago. You can claim Chicago all you want. F--- the #Bears.”
Another added: “No way this is real? Is it April fool's Day? Is this really going to happen? If this is I'm sick to my stomach gutted and probably never watch a Bears game ever. I've been a Bears fan since probably 7 years old. No more iconic Soldier Field games?”
A third chimed in, “Loyal fans stood by this franchise through decades of losing, disappointment, and instability. We showed up when the stadium was empty (no one will dare go to a stadium in another state if our team sucks), when the weather was brutal, and when there was little reason to believe better days were ahead.
A general view of Soldier Field prior to kickoff
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The Bears have called Illinois home for the last 106 years(Image: Getty Images)
“It’s deeply disappointing to see that loyalty seemingly takes a back seat to money and politics once again. Legacy was built by the fans who stayed through the hard times. Today, it feels like that legacy is being forgotten.”
Throughout 2025, Bears leadership made multiple aggressive attempts to demolish Soldier Field and construct a $4.7 billion facility on the Museum Campus.
However, these proposals were abandoned after failing to secure sufficient legislative backing, leading the Bears to redirect their attention toward a move to Arlington Heights in Chicago's suburbs.
In 2023, the Bears acquired a 326-acre parcel in Arlington Heights for $197.2 million, with the location expected to feature a fixed-roof stadium, commercial space and property development.
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The project was anticipated to generate more than 56,000 construction positions and 9,000 long-term jobs for residents, with a forecasted economic impact of $10 billion.
Yet the Bears’ potential move to Arlington Heights seemingly fell through in recent days over political opposition to taxpayer costs. In a seemingly last-ditch effort to keep the team in the state, the Illinois Senate passed a bill allowing cities in Cook County with populations exceeding 70,000 to form individual stadium authorities.
The Bears would subsequently be able to pay for the new stadium itself while leasing it from the city — thereby allowing the franchise to evade property taxes. But the Illinois House of Representatives adjourned without voting on the bill, with another session not possible until November.