Braun says stadium legislation keeps Indiana ‘in play’ with Chicago Bears

INDIANAPOLIS (WPTA) - Following a unanimous committee vote to send a bill aimed at financing an NFL stadium in northwest Indiana to the Senate floor, Gov. Mike Braun said the Hoosier State is very much “in play” for the Chicago Bears.

Speaking with the IBJ after the Senate Public Policy Committee vote on Thursday, Braun said he and legislative leaders continue to move forward in their efforts to land the state’s second NFL franchise.

“My goal is just to keep being in play as the whole thing unfurls,” Braun said. “And I think it’s more than just kicking the tires to create a bargaining position.

“But take nothing for granted. We won’t get ahead of our skis, but we’ll certainly be timely on all the things we need to do to be in a position to take advantage of it.”

Senate Bill 27, authored by Sens. Ryan Mishler, R-Mishawaka, and Chris Garten, R-Charlestown, lays out the framework for a deal with the NFL franchise by authorizing the creation of the Northwest Indiana Stadium Authority. The new authority could acquire land, finance capital improvements and enter into leases with private entities—including NFL teams.

Specifically, the stadium authority would be able to issue 40-year bonds that could be used to buy land or pay for stadium construction. The state would own the stadium, but the team would take revenue from operations at the venue. The team would also be responsible for maintenance and improvements as needed.

Braun said SB 27 pushes the conversation forward with the Bears, who are also considering a stadium in Arlington Heights, Illinois, where they already own land.

The governor declined to get into specifics of his talks with the team, but said more announcements could come soon.

“There is movement, OK–you see the bill. We wouldn’t be doing that unless we thought that was necessary and timely,” Braun said. “And I would hope that something more concrete develops here within 10 days to couple weeks.”

Though the stadium authority bill is making its way through the Senate, House Speaker Todd Huston, R-Fishers, told reporters Thursday that he’s in support of the legislation if and when it moves to the House.

But he wants a commitment from the Bears before his chamber sends anything to the governor’s office, he said.

“I think if we’re going to move this legislation, [it] would be with a commitment that when we passed it, the deal is done,” Huston said.

There was no public testimony on SB 27 in committee Thursday morning. Lawmakers stripped a provision in the bill which would have required construction work for a stadium to include a certain percentage of minority- and women-owned businesses.

Indiana’s public wooing of the Bears began in December, after Bears CEO Kevin Warren wrote in an open letter on the team’s website that Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker and the Illinois Legislature said they wouldn’t make the team a priority in 2026.

Warren also announced the Bears had expanded their search for a stadium site to northwest Indiana. The team has not been willing to disclose what sites in northwest Indiana are being considered, but sources have told IBJ’s sibling publication Inside INdiana Business that the team has considered a handful of properties in Lake County.

Since Indiana’s push began to win the franchise over, however, Illinois officials have softened their stance and appear to be more open to a deal.

Braun, however, remains confident that Indiana can deliver.

“There are many that still think … it’s only a bargaining posture from the Bears,” Braun said. “I think that that’s one opinion. I think the Bears have been working on it for a long time and tried to get it to where it would have worked out staying in Illinois, in Chicago. But I think they were looking elsewhere.”