By Tom Davies
Indiana Capital Chronicle
A year ago, Indiana House Speaker Todd Huston wanted to annex some counties from Illinois. Now, he’s diving into Indiana’s bid to snatch away the Chicago Bears.
The Republican speaker announced Thursday that he’s taking the unusual step of becoming the lead House sponsor on the bill aimed at luring the planned new stadium for the National Football League team into northwest Indiana.
Huston told reporters he was focusing on discussions about a possible deal for the stadium.
“I’m going to spend the next two days up in Lake County and Porter County having conversations with local elected officials to do everything we can,” Huston said.
The state Senate last week endorsed Senate Bill 27 that would create the Northwest Indiana Stadium Authority.
That state body that would have the power to acquire land, issue long-term bonds and finance the construction of a professional football stadium and related facilities.
The bill, however, does not specify how much taxpayer money would go toward the project and which local taxes might be tapped. It also doesn’t include details of what, if anything, the Bears would contribute to the new stadium.
Huston said he didn’t have any meetings set with Bears officials, indicating that Gov. Mike Braun’s staff has “done a fantastic job. It’s been a cooperative effort.”
Hammond mayor calls site evaluation “advanced”
Bears officials have publicly explored relocating to northwest Indiana amid stalled negotiations in Illinois over a proposed stadium development in the Chicago suburb of Arlington Heights.
Hammond Mayor Tom McDermott told the Indiana Capital Chronicle that he would be meeting with Huston and the speaker would tour a possible stadium site in the city that’s being evaluated by Bears and state officials.
McDermott said Thursday he believed Indiana’s bid for the Bears’ relocation is “extremely serious.”
“I think it’s advanced,” he said. “I could confirm that a huge amount of money has been spent by the state of Indiana and by the Chicago Bears.”
McDermott said millions of dollars have been spent by the team and the state so far.
“Environmental research, all kinds of consultants and attorneys and engineers,” he said. “If the Bears are going to make a move of this magnitude, they’ve got to know full well what they’re getting themselves into. They want to make sure that it’s a good situation.”
Braun not detailing negotiations
Braun’s office did not answer questions on Thursday about the status of the negotiations with the Bears.
But the governor told the Indiana Capital Chronicle on Tuesday that he wanted to see a deal reached with the Bears before the end of this year’s legislative session, which is expected to conclude Feb. 27.
“We’re getting down to a point where there’s been enough due diligence, and when it comes to who’s going to pay for what, I think that’s going to be worked out in a model, maybe similar to the Colts, may vary a little bit. It’ll depend on how we flesh that out,” Braun said. “Some of it will need to be done just through negotiations.”
Public financing covered most of the $720 million cost of building Lucas Oil Stadium for the Indianapolis Colts but the team contributed about $100 million. The stadium opened in 2008, with the money coming from a variety of taxes that include food and beverage sales taxes in Indianapolis and its surrounding counties.
Senate President Pro Tem Rodric Bray said many details are still to be sorted out but called the discussions productive.
“We don’t have any idea if this is going to happen. I don’t have any details to give you,” he said. “We want to put our hand forward and said, we’d love to do business with you. We’d love to have them. And I think, frankly, we’ve got a really, really, really good product here in Indiana and northwest Indiana to to house them that would be more advantageous than Illinois.”
Huston sponsored a bill last year establishing a commission to consider shifting several rural southern Illinois counties into Indiana. Illinois officials have refused to take part, with Gov. J.B. Pritzker dubbing the effort “a stunt.”
Huston said he has great interest in getting a stadium deal done.
“I think it’s an incredible economic opportunity for northwest Indiana and for the state of Indiana,” he said. “Hopefully, we’ll be moving something forward soon.”
McDermott said the cooperation of the governor’s office and legislative leaders was “impressive” in pursuit of the stadium project.
“I’ve been mayor 23 years and I’ve never seen any project as advanced as this, in as much detail as this, but that makes sense, because we’re talking about a multibillion-dollar investment,” he said. “It’s transformational for my city.”
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The Indiana Capital Chronicle is an independent, nonprofit news organization dedicated to giving Hoosiers a comprehensive look inside state government, policy and elections. The site combines daily coverage with in-depth scrutiny, political awareness and insightful commentary.
