The Chicago Bears Are Moving to Indiana for This Reason — and NFL Fans Don't Like It

In late 2025, Distractify reported on the Chicago Bears' possible move to Indiana. And now, it looks like that purported move is closer to materializing.

That's according to a June 5, 2026, report published by ESPN, which writes that "The Bears took a significant step toward leaving Illinois."

In our previous coverage of the move, Distractify wrote that the pivot away from Chicago's Soldier Field was due to the Bears' ownership shifting stadiums to better serve the needs of its fan base. Furthermore, expanding the Bears' stadium in order to accommodate its fans was seen as a necessary maneuver, but it doesn't come without its issues.

The threat to move the Bears' stadium to Indiana boils down to taxes and tax breaks for construction.

Kevin Warren was quoted by the Chicago Tribune as stating that the construction of a new Bears stadium wouldn't put a burden on taxpayers.

Furthermore, the Windy City's 2% hotel tax would offset the cost of all incentives over 40 years.

It's not as if the Bears didn't try to stay in Illinois. The ball club purchased an area of land in the Arlington Heights area that could accommodate its expansion.

However, state governor J.B. Pritzker has argued that giving financial incentives to the Bears may ultimately not be in the best interest of taxpayers at the end of the day.

Conversely, Bears leadership is arguing that these incentives are a small price to pay for the business the Arlington Heights site will bring into the state of Illinois.

What's more is that with the revamped site, the Chicago Bears could be a contender for hosting the Super Bowl.

Which presumably means that throngs of fans will come to the new Bears stadium if the massively popular sporting event is held in the Prairie State.

And that, in turn, brings more revenue from hotels, taxis, restaurants, gift shops, etc., which could see a rise in tax revenue for the state.

But since Pritzker and Illinois aren't playing ball with the Bears when it comes to tax breaks for the site, the team's leadership are looking towards greener football pastures.

So they decided to head on over to a neighboring Midwest State: Indiana.

Specifically, Hammond and the squad's board of directors voted to advance the move to the Lake County city, which is a 36-minute drive from Chicago.

Bears Chairman H. McCaskey and CEO Kevin Warren released a joint statement on the move, documenting their excitement for the transition, which is nearing fruition.

"We believe in a world-class stadium project in Hammond will transform the region, connecting Northwest Indiana and the South Side of Chicago through the Loop and across the neighborhoods and suburbs stretching north of the city," the two said in the joint release.

As for a name change, it is too early to tell. It appears that Indiana is working to try to steal the Bears away from Illinois.

ESPN reports that Governor J.B. Pritzker doesn't want the Chicago team to leave the state and that Illinois still has a chance to keep the Bears there.