Make Fun of the Bears' Stadium Woes in Here

[jersey cubs fan]

3 hours ago, Wilson A2000 said:

Dan Pompei is not one to throw things like that out without reason. That’s not good.

Dan Pompei is like the epitome of an owners mouthpiece. He might as well work for the pr department. 

[Hot Sauce]

I hope they build in Gary so we can refer to them as the Gare Bears. 

[minnesotacubsfan]

The Bears have screwed this up so much they’ll end up staying in SF for the next 30 years

[We Got The Whole 9]

Warren is a clown, this is too funny.  Ultimately I don't care because ill probably never see another game there, but horsefeathers Indiana LOL

 

Sorry Mike Patton, Kevin Warren is Mr. Bungle.

[Brian707]

The people of Indiana are never going to allow their taxes to go up to support a Bears stadium.  Its clear the McCaskeys don't have the funds. Just sell the team already (won't happen) or ask the Ricketts for a loan 

[jersey cubs fan]

24 minutes ago, Brian707 said:

The people of Indiana are never going to allow their taxes to go up to support a Bears stadium.  Its clear the McCaskeys don't have the funds. Just sell the team already (won't happen) or ask the Ricketts for a loan 

Never underestimate a republicans willingness to give handouts to billionaires especially when they believe doing so would be owning the libs. 

[CubinNY]

Imagine the smell of the air for the Gary Bears. It might be an environmental hazard to play there.  

[Outshined_One]

14 hours ago, Wilson A2000 said:

Can't they borrow more like the rest of us do?

The league will help finance stadium deals with owners, but there's an upper limit on the amount of financing the league will provide, and there's also a cap on private financing owners can obtain.  The NFL doesn't want to be in a situation where an owner leverages a good chunk of the team, only to default on the loan and suddenly the owner of the team is JPMorgan Chase Bank.

Given that the McCaskeys' sole asset is the Bears, I genuinely don't think they have the financial capability to build this stadium, even with NFL and private financing, without significant state/municipal help.  It's not Kevin Warren's call to put out these sorts of press releases; he's just a mouthpiece for ownership.  They've clearly gone into this thinking that Arlington Heights and Illinois would roll out the green carpet for the move, and it's so badly bitten them in the ass.

[Banedon]

But it's all posturing.  They already spent $200mil on the land in Arlington Heights.

[BigSlick]

Yeah from what I’ve read this is the rare case where the owners simply don’t have the money to build the stadium, it’s not simply just greed, it’s plan facts.

The only way Bears ownership could get financing to build the stadium on their own would require them to leverage more of their ownership of the team (because they are so cash-poor) and I may be wrong, but the NFL puts limits of how much an ownership can do that. Of course, one solution would be for the McCaskeys to sell the team already, but I don’t think that’s in the cards.

all that being said, I don’t want a penny of public money going to a new Bears stadium. Always a boondoggle, it never pays off for the taxpayer. 

[Wilson A2000]

11 hours ago, minnesotacubsfan said:

The Bears have screwed this up so much they’ll end up staying in SF for the next 30 years

In SF?

Edit: Duh, Soldier Field

Edited December 18, 2025 by Wilson A2000

[Brian707]

3 minutes ago, Wilson A2000 said:

In SF?

Soldier Field

 

Also, my neighbor who is union laborer is telling me they already just about have a contract done with the Bears or whoever is designing the stadium for thru the end of the decade. This is just some bull horsefeathers from the Bears.

Edited December 18, 2025 by Brian707

[mul21]

22 minutes ago, BigSlick said:

Yeah from what I’ve read this is the rare case where the owners simply don’t have the money to build the stadium, it’s not simply just greed, it’s plan facts.

The only way Bears ownership could get financing to build the stadium on their own would require them to leverage more of their ownership of the team (because they are so cash-poor) and I may be wrong, but the NFL puts limits of how much an ownership can do that. Of course, one solution would be for the McCaskeys to sell the team already, but I don’t think that’s in the cards.

all that being said, I don’t want a penny of public money going to a new Bears stadium. Always a boondoggle, it never pays off for the taxpayer. 

I'm okay with public money going to things like public transportation that people going to the games will actually benefit from, but zero dollars should go to the actual building of the stadium.

[Old Style]

Can we trade Warren to the Colts since he wants to explore Indiana so bad? Just send back a kicker who can make FG’s. 

[UMFan83]

I kinda think this is very possible.  If Indiana is going to offer a property tax free location and commits to pay for infrastructure improvements it has to be seriously considered.  The Bears would probably much rather build in Arlington Heights even if it requires them to pay property tax, but if Illinois doesn't budge on this threat I think they will very strongly consider it.

[Tryptamine]

Let's say the Bears are serious about moving to Indiana and Indiana wants them. Guess what, it still doesn't matter because the NFL will never OK the Bears leaving Chicago. 

[jersey cubs fan]

2 minutes ago, Tryptamine said:

Let's say the Bears are serious about moving to Indiana and Indiana wants them. Guess what, it still doesn't matter because the NFL will never OK the Bears leaving Chicago. 

Why? 

[Tryptamine]

1 minute ago, jersey cubs fan said:

Why? 

You think they're going to leave the 3rd largest city in America without a team, a team which has been around from the very beginning and is as storied a franchise as there is? I think there's about zero chance of that. The closest they've ever come to that was the Raiders, but LA already had the Rams and had a local team in San Diego that they could just fill in for the moving Raiders. 

[Soul]

The Raiders had bounced around already.  Moving from Oakland to LA and back might as well be a different state.

I’d be astonished if the NFL lets the Bears build a stadium in, say, Gary.

Why can’t Warren get creative with private funding? I think the Raiders got some money by making Vegas charge more for hotel rooms.  Admittedly I have no idea what’s already been explored.

[Transmogrified Tiger]

5 minutes ago, Tryptamine said:

You think they're going to leave the 3rd largest city in America without a team, a team which has been around from the very beginning and is as storied a franchise as there is? I think there's about zero chance of that. The closest they've ever come to that was the Raiders, but LA already had the Rams and had a local team in San Diego that they could just fill in for the moving Raiders. 

The Arlington Heights location is further from soldier field/downtown Chicago than Gary is.  I don’t think it’ll happen, but Gary being just across the state line wouldn’t be the reason since everyone will still consider it Chicago

[jersey cubs fan]

21 minutes ago, Tryptamine said:

You think they're going to leave the 3rd largest city in America without a team, a team which has been around from the very beginning and is as storied a franchise as there is? I think there's about zero chance of that. The closest they've ever come to that was the Raiders, but LA already had the Rams and had a local team in San Diego that they could just fill in for the moving Raiders. 

There isn’t a team in NYC but the two teams that play in New Jersey are still called NY. The Chicago Bears playing in nw Indiana would still be the Chicago Bears, just as the Chicago Bears playing in Arlington heights would be the Chicago Bears 

[Outshined_One]

21 minutes ago, Tryptamine said:

Let's say the Bears are serious about moving to Indiana and Indiana wants them. Guess what, it still doesn't matter because the NFL will never OK the Bears leaving Chicago. 

I think this is partially correct; it's not that the NFL would never okay it, but the Colts would never okay it.  There were articles awhile back (which I annoyingly can't find) during the Commanders' search for a new stadium site and the Ravens were kicking up a fuss over some of the proposed sites in Maryland encroaching on the Ravens' territory.

I just don't see how the Colts would give the green light to a stadium in Whiting or Hammond.

[jersey cubs fan]

18 minutes ago, Outshined_One said:

I think this is partially correct; it's not that the NFL would never okay it, but the Colts would never okay it.  There were articles awhile back (which I annoyingly can't find) during the Commanders' search for a new stadium site and the Ravens were kicking up a fuss over some of the proposed sites in Maryland encroaching on the Ravens' territory.

I just don't see how the Colts would give the green light to a stadium in Whiting or Hammond.

DC to Baltimore is about 1/4th the distance as Chicago to Indy. The commanders had little wiggle room to avoid their territory. 
 

Chicago in nw Indiana would not have a real effect on the colts. 

[Brian707]

Is there Colts fans in Gary? Maybe 3? 

I don't think the issue would be the Colts losing fans

[mul21]

40 minutes ago, Outshined_One said:

I think this is partially correct; it's not that the NFL would never okay it, but the Colts would never okay it.  There were articles awhile back (which I annoyingly can't find) during the Commanders' search for a new stadium site and the Ravens were kicking up a fuss over some of the proposed sites in Maryland encroaching on the Ravens' territory.

I just don't see how the Colts would give the green light to a stadium in Whiting or Hammond.

Yeah, like Jersey said, this is an apples to oranges comparison being made.  Baltimore and DC are an hour max apart and Chicago and Indy are about 3 hours apart.  No shared TV stations or really anything else, unlike DC and Baltimore.