HAMMOND, Ind. — Indiana’s bid to help finance a Chicago Bears stadium in Hammond is now law. The Senate passed Senate Enrolled Act 27 by 45-4 on Feb. 26. Gov. Mike Braun signed it the same day, the Indiana Capital Chronicle and The Times of Northwest Indiana reported.
The bill creates a Northwest Indiana stadium entity and tax tools in Lake and Porter counties. The Bears have not picked a site. Capital Chronicle said the team was still weighing Arlington Heights while Illinois advanced its own megaprojects bill.
Key facts
| Piece | Detail |
|---|---|
| Stadium entity | Northwest Indiana Stadium Authority / Board (bonds) |
| Admissions tax | 12% on stadium events |
| Lake hotel tax | 5% to 10% |
| Food-and-beverage | 1% in Lake and Porter |
| Private share | At least 50%; 35-year play commitment (Times) |
| Site focus | Wolf Lake area, Hammond |
Capital Chronicle said officials have talked about roughly $1 billion in tax revenue for stadium-district infrastructure. The Times said repayment could also tap Hammond district revenues and a renegotiated Indiana Toll Road lease. Sen. Ryan Mishler, R-Mishawaka, the Senate sponsor, told Capital Chronicle the margins show “Indiana’s commitment to the Chicago Bears.”
Braun signed fast. Capital Chronicle said he signed within about an hour of the Senate vote. The Times said he signed right after the 45-4 tally, after House passage 95-4 earlier in the week. “We made it clear from the beginning that Indiana is open for business. I’m thrilled to sign Senate Bill 27 to create the framework to build a new world-class stadium in Northwest Indiana. Now let’s get this across the goal line,” Braun said in The Times’ account. On ESPN’s Pat McAfee Show, Capital Chronicle reported, Braun floated 2029 as a build goal and warned due diligence could still “waylay” a deal.
The Bears thanked Braun without choosing Hammond. Both outlets carried a team statement calling SB 27 “the framework for a stadium development in Northwest Indiana” and saying talks continue.
Sen. Rick Niemeyer, R-Lowell, told Capital Chronicle he did not think northwest Indiana would “have a problem with the way this is set up.” The Times quoted him calling it “a good proposal.” Hammond Mayor Thomas McDermott Jr. called the signing “a historic day for our state,” The Times reported. The four Senate no votes were Republicans Liz Brown, Chris Garten, Gary Byrne, and Tyler Johnson, Capital Chronicle said.
Porter County is the hard edge. Commissioner Jim Biggs told The Times’ Joseph S. Pete the Hammond stadium — about 20 miles away — was too far to justify a food-and-beverage tax. In a Feb. 28 follow-up, Biggs said constituents were “99.9% … crystal clear that they did not support a food and beverage tax for the purpose of subsidizing a Bears stadium in Hammond,” adding: “I would find it easier to try and sell our residents more snow to place in their driveways.”
Biggs also argued such projects “typically do not provide the promised return on investment for taxpayers.” Capital Chronicle, citing The Times, printed him saying Hammond and the state are “entitled to offer the Bears all the subsidies that they think their taxpayers can afford to pay,” while calling an NFL stadium “not the can’t-miss economic investment that some people would like us to believe.” Portage Mayor Austin Bonta told The Times he was glad Hammond won the site label but that extending the food-and-beverage tax into Porter “did not make sense.”
Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker asked whether northwest Indiana residents want higher taxes “to pay for a stadium in the state of Indiana for the Chicago Bears,” Capital Chronicle recorded. SB 27 is the Indiana framework. The Bears’ site pick — and county action on the taxes — still decide whether Hammond gets a stadium.