NFL News The Bears appear to be moving to Indiana

ViperGTS · Feb 19, 2026

FortressX said:
Another sterile dome ?

Oh for sure. I kinda like it. Let some of those losers get nice in comfortable in a dome, then have to go to Green Bay for a title game. Gonna be a league of half babies and half men.

Again, a dome is the reason I dock guys like Brees, Manning etc just because it's so much easier to throw in a dome than it is outside even with a 80 degree day with 20 miles an hour winds.

TommyD4207 · Feb 19, 2026

ViperGTS said:
Apparently it's a done deal.

Indiana residents stuck paying for 2 domes.
Good stuff.

One would think having to live in Indiana is punishment enough, but hell, they do it to themselves.

NormZauchin · Feb 19, 2026

Nehalem said:
Should take an idea from the New England Patriots and rename Great Lakes Bears

Except that Green Bay, Detroit, Cleveland, and Buffalo could all lay claim to being a Great Lakes team.

Grogan14 · Feb 19, 2026

One-If-By-Sea said:
I agree but if Illinois is going to implement a millionaires tax I wonder if the team wants to stay more competitive in FA (less tax for players) by moving 25 minutes outside Chicago. It is a thought I had not considered. I assumed it was a fake negotiating move like Hartford was, but maybe not. There are a lot of reasons to move over the line into Indiana. The drive to Hartford would have changed the fan base demographic, I am not sure 25 minutes outside Chicago does that.

Also Caleb Williams will almost undoubtedly perform better in a dome.
Bears could be a top offense in that dome

Huckleberry1 · Feb 19, 2026

Mike Ditka is rolling over in his grave.

JoeSixPat · Feb 19, 2026

I don't know - this strikes me as an effort to get some leverage with Illinois and stay in the Chicago area the end

I know, that's kindof crappy.

Imagine how we'd feel if Kraft tried to play Massachusetts and Foxboro by flirting with Providence and Hartford?

But my guess is that they stay in IL rather than risk creating the "curse of George Halas" when they fail to win.

TommyD4207 · Feb 19, 2026

JoeSixPat said:
I don't know - this strikes me as an effort to get some leverage with Illinois and stay in the Chicago area the end

I know, that's kindof crappy.

Imagine how we'd feel if Kraft tried to play Massachusetts and Foxboro by flirting with Providence and Hartford?

But my guess is that they stay in IL rather than risk creating the "curse of George Halas" when they fail to win.

festy1986 · Feb 19, 2026

One-If-By-Sea said:
I agree but if Illinois is going to implement a millionaires tax I wonder if the team wants to stay more competitive in FA (less tax for players) by moving 25 minutes outside Chicago. It is a thought I had not considered. I assumed it was a fake negotiating move like Hartford was, but maybe not. There are a lot of reasons to move over the line into Indiana. The drive to Hartford would have changed the fan base demographic, I am not sure 25 minutes outside Chicago does that.

What does Indiana get by financing 2 billion worth of the cost and they still call it the Chicago Bears?

They're not making 2 billion in revenue at the gate.

Nehalem · Feb 19, 2026

Steve102 said:
Soldier Field Renovation Timeline - Illinois Sports Facilities Authority (ISFA)

Seems like a money grab to me, they have a renovation that feels more recent than the 2002-03 timeline. Not sure why they have to bail after spending a boatload of money to fix up the old place.

Fun stadium facts

10 stadiums are 2006+ (note 2 are shared by 2 teams
15 stadiums are 1995-2003 (note Titans is getting replaced in 2027)
5 are older

Soldier Field 1924
Lambeau 1957 (never getting replaced)
Arrowhead 1972 - Moving to Kansas City

So even if the Bears had a new stadium in 2002-2003 they would still have a stadium older than 13 teams. With more building and at least one other planning.

PatsFan219 · Feb 19, 2026

I live 30 minutes from Hammond and 50 from Chicago. Hammond is a **** hole, lots of crime and isn’t safe. Super corrupt. I hate the Bears and the fans are awful.

FreeTedWilliams · Feb 19, 2026

It’s basically akin in distance to Foxboro to Boston, but you go from onerous blue state taxes, to red state taxes. There is already a casino right there. Smart move, so NYC, San Francisco, Dallas, who else has left the cities?

VrabelJr · Feb 19, 2026

Teams bouncing around for tax payer dollars is just the latest in the NFL jumping the shark. If owners aren’t loyal to fans the fans shouldn’t be loyal either.

festy1986 · Feb 19, 2026

VrabelJr said:
Teams bouncing around for tax payer dollars is just the latest in the NFL jumping the shark. If owners aren’t loyal to fans the fans shouldn’t be loyal either.

There's no way there isn't a name change coming. How can a Bears fan maintain their loyalty when they aren't even local anymore.

Does anyone really think the Raider fans are the same as they was in Oakland?

In fact. If I'm Chicago, I'm suing so they can't use the name Chicago.

Nikolai · Feb 19, 2026

That area is basically still Chicagoland. I used to go back and forth around the metro, and spent some time in Valparaiso. By the time I-90 gets to that area, you feel like you're basically in Chicago. At least, I did.

ViperGTS said:
Oh for sure. I kinda like it. Let some of those losers get nice in comfortable in a dome, then have to go to Green Bay for a title game. Gonna be a league of half babies and half men.

Again, a dome is the reason I dock guys like Brees, Manning etc just because it's so much easier to throw in a dome than it is outside even with a 80 degree day with 20 miles an hour winds.

Very astute. I started an analysis normalizing Manning, Brees, and Brady's stats to account for the former two playing the majority of their games in domes. The numbers favored Brady so heavily that I think non-Pats people would have a hard time accepting it.

fnordcircle · Feb 20, 2026

I'm enjoying the posts about this topic where people are talking about the tax situation in Illinois but also simultaneously seem to think that the answer is to make taxpayers pay more to further subsidize a stadium for a multi billion dollar sports organization.

n1997y · Feb 20, 2026

fnordcircle said:
I'm enjoying the posts about this topic where people are talking about the tax situation in Illinois but also simultaneously seem to think that the answer is to make taxpayers pay more to further subsidize a stadium for a multi billion dollar sports organization.

Yeah the unwritten subplot is:
Indiana taxes aren’t as bad as Illinois taxes
so the Bears can get a better deal on the Indiana gravy train for moving from Illinois
thereby helping to equalize the situation by adding to the burden on Indiana taxpayers.

Triumph · Feb 20, 2026

FortressX said:
Another sterile dome ?

For a Super Bowl.

Then every other type of event year round.

sieglo · Feb 20, 2026

Another win for superstar JB Pritzker.

Patsfanin Philly · Feb 20, 2026

Nikolai said:
That area is basically still Chicagoland. I used to go back and forth around the metro, and spent some time in Valparaiso. By the time I-90 gets to that area, you feel like you're basically in Chicago. At least, I did.

Very astute. I started an analysis normalizing Manning, Brees, and Brady's stats to account for the former two playing the majority of their games in domes. The numbers favored Brady so heavily that I think non-Pats people would have a hard time accepting it.

I think I read somewhere that Brady had a higher QB rating than Manning both outdoors and in a dome but overall Manning had a higher QB rating because he played more games in a dome....

upstater1 · Feb 20, 2026

TommyD4207 said:
Indiana residents stuck paying for 2 domes.
Good stuff.

One would think having to live in Indiana is punishment enough, but hell, they do it to themselves.

NW Indiana is one of the snowiest places in the country. There is no way a glass ceiling is going to hold 2 feet of snow. This was also the problem with a dome in Buffalo. No way a roof could hold 3 feet of snow. Many people pointed out that if you wanted a domed stadium in Buffalo, it had to be downtown, which doesn't get hit with Lake Effect snow.

NFL News The Bears appear to be moving to Indiana

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