Overview
- Sources say Governor J.B. Pritzker and legislative leaders support state funding for roads and utilities at the Arlington Heights site alongside PILOT-style legislation to set predictable property taxes, with fan affordability measures under discussion.
- Pritzker publicly reports progress and repeats that taxpayers will not fund the stadium structure, while Bears CEO Kevin Warren says the team will cover construction costs.
- Participants from the governor’s office, lawmakers, Arlington Heights officials, and the Bears have met frequently since December, and the village’s mayor says a resolution could come within weeks.
- Indiana’s Senate passed a bill to create a stadium authority that could finance a publicly owned venue with a long lease and a $1 purchase option, and its session ends Feb. 27 as Hammond’s Wolf Lake, Gary, and other sites court the team.
- Portage, Indiana, is pitching a 300-acre, privately financed “Halas Harbor” stadium with rent-free use, and Iowa senators have introduced a bill to expand incentives aimed at attracting an NFL franchise.