As the Bears’ “stadium flirtation with Indiana heats up, backers of the team’s relocation to Arlington Heights plan to rally the troops next week to keep the NFL franchise” on their “side of the state line,” according to Christopher Placek of the Chicago DAILY HERALD. Touchdown Arlington, the “coalition of business owners who support the team’s move to town, announced Tuesday plans for a public event ‘to show broad, visible community support’ for tax break legislation that would bring a stadium and mixed-use district to the Arlington Park property.” The event is dubbed “Springfield Kickoff: Bring the Bears to Arlington Heights,” and those “scheduled to attend and speak include Mayor Jim Tinaglia and other elected officials from across the Northwest suburbs who will lobby for the so-called megaproject bill.” In January, the Indiana Senate “advanced a bill creating the Northwest Indiana Stadium Authority, which would acquire land and issue bonds to pay for a new publicly owned stadium to be leased to the Bears for at least 35 years.” The Bears “could keep revenue generated there to help pay the rent” and “would have the option to buy the building for the cost of the outstanding debt, or for a $1 if the bonds are already paid off.” The team is “eyeing land near Wolf Lake in Hammond -- just across the border from Chicago’s Hegewisch neighborhood.” Meanwhile, Touchdown Arlington on Tuesday “pitched a Bears redevelopment of the 326-acre former racetrack as a ‘once-in-a-generation economic development opportunity’ that would bring jobs, infrastructure improvements and tax base growth to the Northwest suburbs” (Chicago DAILY HERALD, 2/3).
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