Two months since the Chicago Bears' board of directors voted to secure a new stadium site in Hammond, Ind., the franchise's “sole focus” continues to be on northwest Indiana – and not on just one site, but two. Speaking to reporters before a Bears training camp practice Thursday afternoon, team president and CEO Kevin Warren and chairman George McCaskey emphasized the franchise’s “solution-oriented” relationships continue to strengthen with government officials within Indiana – from Gov. Mike Braun to state legislators and even mayors and county officials. The Bears are exploring the Lost Marsh and Wolf Lake Terminal sites as the potential future home of a “world-class mixed-use” development site that would include a domed stadium, hotels and restaurants that officials expect to host Super Bowls, major concerts, College Football Playoff games, future World Cup matches and more. There’s even potential, Warren said, that the two sites could be merged to create a larger, more “cohesive” stadium site within Hammond. Topographical, geographical and environmental studies that constitute the necessary due diligence have been completed on Lost Marsh – the site the Bears invited NFL commissioner Roger Gooddell to tour earlier this year. At the moment, state officials in Illinois have made no formal written offer to the Bears to remain at or around the team’s current downtown home of Soldier Field or for the 300-plus acre development in Arlington Heights team ownership purchased a few years ago, Warren and McCaskey said Thursday.
“We have had occasional meetings with the state of Illinois,” said Warren – meetings that McCaskey used just a single word to describe Thursday: minimal. “Our sole focus at this point in time is working on a world-class stadium and mixed-use development in Hammond, Ind. “There’s a lot of work happening on a daily basis, and we’re in regular communication with the state of Indiana working on this. We have an excellent deal – a win-win partnership – on this. We will make sure we take our time to get this right, because not only are we building a world-class stadium, but we’re building a world-class mixed-use development, and we want to make sure we get this right.” When will the Bears make a decision on a stadium site? Warren declined to give a date when the Bears hope to break ground on this new project or even when they will make a final decision on the site of the franchise’s next stadium. “We’ve reached a point now where we’re starting to get come clarity and we have the appropriate financing together, and we’re looking forward to making a decision so we can break ground and get our project going forward,” Warren said Thursday. “I think it’s prudent for us to move with pace, based on where we are. “There’s not only political and legislative decisions that have to be made, but it’s the financial decisions that have to be made, and we have a family who’s committed sizable resources - $2 billion – out of the organization to build this stadium. But the longer this goes on, it creates complications.” Warren said costs on the build could go up $150 million per year the project is stalled. “The worst thing you can do in these stadium projects is make a determination where you look back and say, ‘Boy, if we’d taken a little more time…’ because there’s not really a do-over once you break ground,” Warren said. “Our target is the ‘right time.’ “And we’ll know when that is, but we’re making very, very good progress here. I’m looking forward to this opportunity, and I’m grateful to be able to work on this. It’ll be an exciting day when it comes to fruition.” Will the Chicago Bears' name change due to the new stadium? McCaskey made clear that under no uncertain terms would the franchise’s name change. “We’ll be the Chicago Bears whether we’re in Arlington or in Hammond,” the team chairman said. “But we feel that anxiety. We feel that stress. It’ll take an adjustment, but whenever I’ve driven that route (from Chicago to northwest Indiana), other than a sign telling us, I wouldn’t know that I’d crossed the state border. “Once people see the building and get in there and understand that our top priority since Day 1 has been a world-class stadium experience, we think (fans) will be able to make that adjustment. We think Bears fans are up for that.” Warren echoed those sentiments, emphasizing that he believed the franchise’s diehard fanbase was long overdue to be able to enjoy a modernized football stadium. Soldier Field opened in 1924 and had the interior renovated nearly a quarter-century ago. “The time has come for us to do this. (Our fans) deserve a much better gameday experience than we have now. They deserve the opportunity for us to bring world-class events here,” he said. “Our focus is on the fans. “I can understand the frustration, but hopefully when we finish the stadium and open up, then can come and experience it, and I think they’ll be grateful for what we’ve done.” This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Chicago Bears officials: Hammond 'sole focus' of new stadium project