The city of Portage is throwing a hail Mary pass at a privately-funded Chicago Bears stadium built on city-owned land, city officials said Tuesday.
Portage Mayor Austin Bonta said the city has proposed to build a stadium on 300 acres of city-owned land on the north side of the city. City officials are calling the proposal “Halas Harbor,” a nod to the Bears’ Halas Hall headquarters in Lake Forest, Illinois.
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The site would be located on the former SportsResort site north of I-94 with nearby train and boat access, Bonta said. The area, which is in a transit redevelopment district, is located along the Burns Waterway, where U.S. Steel’s Midwest plant in Portage spilled 300 pounds of hexavalent chromium in 2017.
In January, the city’s redevelopment commission approved a contract with Abonmarche Development for alternative development options for that parcel, known as the Hillcrest area on the city’s northwest side. That 300 to 400 acres would be for multiuse venues, Redevelopment Director Dan Botich said during that meeting.
It’s also where city officials have previously hinted is the approximate area where the Chicago Bears would be able to locate a new stadium if they move the team to Portage.
To fund the proposal, Bonta told the Post-Tribune the city has “a partner on the finance side to finance the stadium privately.”
“We have a proposal for a privately funded stadium on city-owned land,” Bonta said. He declined to give more details, noting the city will be holding a news conference Wednesday to announce the proposal and its funding.
Bonta said officials with the Bears and the state of Indiana are aware of the proposal and its funding.
The Bears have a broad fan base, Bonta said, as fans live throughout the Chicagoland area, which includes Northwest Indiana. Portage has been excited about the possibility of a Bears stadium since the team announced in December it would expand its stadium search into the region, he said.
“We have the same roar on a different shore,” Bonta said.
Gary officials announced in January that the city has three locations for a Chicago Bears stadium: Gary West End Entertainment District near Hard Rock Casino, Buffington Harbor and Miller Beach.
While Indiana officials play up their efforts to lure the Chicago Bears across the border for a new stadium, Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker said Monday that he and his staff have made “progress” to incentivize the team to stay in Illinois, the Chicago Tribune reported.
Records show Pritzker had scheduled conversations with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell while Goodell was in Chicago for the Bears-Packers playoff game on Jan. 10. Before the game, Goodell joined Bears President and CEO Kevin Warren and Chair George McCaskey on a tour of the Arlington Heights site the team owns, and sites in Northwest Indiana, including one near Wolf Lake in Hammond, the Chicago Tribune reported.
The key sticking points in Illinois have been over how the state would legislatively or financially aid the team in its desire to build a stadium in Chicago’s northwest suburbs. In particular, topics have evolved around assistance for infrastructure around a proposed Arlington Heights stadium, property tax certainty for the team, and payment of debt for the Soldier Field renovations done more than 20 years ago at the team’s behest.
Sources familiar with the discussions between the Bears and state of Illinois officials said both sides have been meeting regularly since early December to hammer out legislation for this spring’s legislative session in Springfield. The talks have been in line with public infrastructure improvements for or around the Bears stadium site in Arlington Heights and so-called megaprojects legislation that would make it easier for the Bears to negotiate with local governments over property taxes, sources told the Chicago Tribune.
In Indiana, the legislature has been advancing Senate Bill 27 to establish a state authority to “acquire, construct, equip, own, lease and finance” a sports stadium.
The bill would require a National Football League team to enter into a lease for the stadium for at least 35 years. After the term of the lease, the lessee would have the option to purchase the capital improvement for $1 if certain conditions are met.
In response to the new legislation, the Bears said the legislation represented “a significant milestone in our discussions around a potential stadium development in Chicagoland’s Northwest Indiana region. We appreciate the leadership and responsiveness of Governor (Mike) Braun and Indiana lawmakers in advancing a framework that allows these conversations to move forward productively.”
During his state of the state address last month, Gov. Mike Braun said with Indiana’s strong business environment, “it’s not surprising” that the Chicago Bears have looked to northwest Indiana to build a stadium.
“We are working hard to bring the Chicago Bears to the Hoosier state so they can really see what a great place is to have a business. We’ll work hard to do it. Let’s get it across the finish line,” Braun said.
Freelance reporter Doug Ross contributed.