The governor of Illinois said he was surprised by the Chicago Bears' statement Thursday morning that it has a vision to build a stadium in Hammond, Indiana — and that, in fact, team officials have since told Illinois officials that a move across state lines is not a done deal.
Bears representatives and state leaders had "mostly agreed" Wednesday on a bill to keep the NFL team in Illinois, Gov. JB Pritzker told media, with initial plans to move the legislation forward Thursday. However, the team asked for a delay to work out a couple of details, he said.
"Now they're saying to us that that statement is not some confirmation that they're moving to Indiana, but rather that Indiana had asked them to say that they were going to move forward with the negotiations in Indiana," Pritzker said.
This is what the Bears said in their Feb. 19 statement: "The passage of (Indiana) SB 27 would mark the most meaningful step forward in our stadium planning efforts to date. We are committed to finishing the remaining site-specific necessary due diligence to support our vision to build a world-class stadium near the Wolf Lake area in Hammond, Indiana. We appreciate the leadership shown by (Indiana) Governor Braun, Speaker Huston, Senator Mishler and members of the Indiana General Assembly in establishing this critical framework and path forward to deliver a premier venue for all of Chicagoland ..."
Bears spokesperson Scott Hagel said later Thursday that statement "is all we have to share at this time."
The possibility of the Bears locating their new stadium in Northwest Indiana instead of Illinois first surfaced in an earlier statement from the team, in mid-December, amid negotiations with Illinois to replace Soldier Field.
Bills have subsequently been in the works in both states to pave the way for stadium construction. Even Iowa lawmakers have made a pitch to lure the stadium there.
Pritzker said he remains firm that Illinois is "not going to build a stadium for the team."
"We want to make sure we're protecting the consumers and taxpayers in the state," he said Thursday.
Now, Pritzker said, "we're waiting to hear from the Bears what they want to do next, because they essentially stopped things in their tracks until we hear more."
Cindi Andrews is IndyStar senior news director. She can be reached at [email protected].
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Chicago Bears' move to Indiana isn't definite, Pritzker says