Chicago Bears: NFL insider points to NFC rival’s past stadium situation as hope for fans

The Chicago Bears are one of the most storied franchises in professional sports history. While they have not won the high number of championships of other teams, their tradition is respected even by their fiercest of rivals. This is why last week’s stadium announcement ruffled so many feathers.

Of course, this announcement was that the organization is moving forward with plans to build a new football stadium. The location, though, will not be in the city of Chicago. Rather, it will be in Hammond, Indiana, about 20 miles away from Soldier Field.

NFL insider reminds Chicago Bears fans this almost happened to the Minnesota Vikings

Chicago’s lease with Soldier Field goes through 2033, but the Bears organization wants to be in their new stadium by 2028. Last week’s announcement indicates that the franchise will no longer be in the city of Chicago, but it is not a done deal just yet.

Indeed, there is still hope that the state of Illinois can figure something out, and NFL insider Tom Pelissero reminded Rich Eisen that this exact same situation popped up a number of years ago for the Minnesota Vikings.

“I would remind people that as part of the Minnesota process, the Vikings were headed to Arden Hills in the north suburbs. They held a press conference and they had Bud Grant trot out and say ‘Outdoor stadium, we’re bringing back the elements and snow, we’re bringing back tailgating.’ And then a few months later, things moved in the Minnesota legislature, and suddenly there was a stadium being built downtown on the site of the Metrodome.”

The two situations are not exactly apples-to-apples in comparison, but it does give fans a bit of hope that maybe, just maybe, the Illinois legislature can figure something out.

That being, Pelissero also said, “All of this to say, ‘Yes, this is real.’ We may soon have conversations about whether the team should be know as the Chicago Bears or the Monsters of the Midwest. So, nothing is done at this point. There is still a possibility that this could pivot back to Arlington Heights. This is part of a fluid situation. But this is a significant step. It is a major step in the course of their process.

“They are effectively saying, ‘We’ve done all the research. We’ve weighed all the possibilities. We intend to go to Hammond, Indiana.’”

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