Amid the madness surrounding the Chicago Bears‘ stadium saga, people haven’t really had time to process why the team is considering Indiana. Sure, there are obvious reasons. The state has made a relentless push to lure them south, offering big-time incentives such as infrastructure support, property tax breaks, and the option to choose any viable location in the preferred area. It is all part of a state-wide effort to lure more big businesses to Indiana and kickstart a refurbishing of the entire northwest region.
Yet nobody has stopped to consider how football fans will react. For the past 40 years, Indiana has been widely considered the Indianapolis Colts’ unquestioned domain. They’ve resided there since 1984, been to two Super Bowls, and beat the Bears in 2006 to win the Lombardi trophy. One would think crossing the state border would be like walking into a forbidden zone. People would have zero interest in the Bears. However, that doesn’t sound like the case.
According to Indiana Senator Jim Banks, there are several fans in Indiana eager for them to come south, since they don’t feel much allegiance to the Colts beyond their obligation as state residents. Chicago would give them an alternative.
In this CNN piece on Bears moving across state lines, Indiana Sen. Jim Banks proudly proclaims:
“The Bears are gonna pick up fans all over the Hoosier State. I’m gonna be one of them. I’m a lifelong Colts fan. But I’m gonna become a Bears fan.” (cont’d) pic.twitter.com/3R3qURNzS8
— Stephen Holder (@HolderStephen) June 14, 2026
The Chicago Bears may smell an opportunity.
While they already have one of the NFL’s larger fanbases, there is every reason to seek ways to grow it. That isn’t the primary reason for moving to northwest Indiana. However, one fact can’t be overstated. There are just under 900,000 people living in the northwest region of that state. If the Bears can lure a healthy portion of them into the fandom, it means significantly more revenue. The average football fan spends around $750 per year on their favorite team. If the Bears were to get around half of those residents to convert (450,000), that equates to $337.5 million.
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This doesn’t include other potential wells of eyes they could dip into across the rest of the state’s northern regions. Keep in mind that Indianapolis is located in the southern half of the state. It is 131 miles from the northern Indiana border. South Bend, the sixth-most populated city in the state, is actually closer to Chicago. Cole Kmet, one of the Bears’ best players, went to college at Notre Dame. They have potential inroads with the entire area. You can start to see the appeal from their perspective.
A slight change of geography can have wild effects.
Remember, Hammond, Indiana, is barely a 30-minute drive from downtown Chicago. You can still see the skyline from across Wolf Lake. It would be a city suburb if it weren’t across the Indiana border. Yet such a shift would present a chance to mine new veins of potential fans. The Chicago Bears already own pretty much the entire state of Illinois. It’s been that way for a century. There were no areas for them to dig into for new fans. The roots are already set. Moving to northwest Indiana would suddenly give them access to fertile new ground.
After all, the Bears have something to offer wavering Colts fans. They have a dynamic young coach in Ben Johnson and Caleb Williams, one of the most exciting young quarterbacks in the NFL. The Colts are about to trot out Daniel Jones for another season. This probably isn’t something the McCaskeys thought about when Indiana first came up, but it’s sure to be on their minds now.