June 5 (Reuters) – The Chicago Bears’ board of directors voted to move forward with plans to build a stadium in Hammond, Indiana, the club announced on Friday, positioning them to play home games out of state for the first time in the team’s history.
“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,” Bears Chairman George H. McCaskey and president and CEO Kevin Warren said in a joint statement.
“It will bring Chicagoland together and deliver new opportunities to its residents and businesses.”
The move comes four days after the Bears said they remained on a “late spring/early summer timeline” for evaluating potential stadium sites in Hammond and Arlington Heights, Illinois.
Earlier this week, Illinois lawmakers adjourned their spring legislative session without approving a last-minute stadium financing proposal aimed at keeping the Bears in Illinois.
Building a stadium in Indiana would position the Bears to play their home games out of state for the first time in their 106-year history.
(Reporting by Nicole Fernandes in Toronto; Editing by Ken Ferris)
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