Bears issue new statement on stadium that officially puts Illinois back in play

Published November 6, 2026 01:39 PM After a stream of statements indicating that the Bears’ ”sole focus” for a new stadium was Indiana, a new statement keeps the door wide open for a new stadium in Illinois.Here’s the full message issued by the team on Friday:“The Chicago Bears remain committed to building a world-class stadium and mixed-use district for our fans, the Chicagoland community and the team.“We continue to work collaboratively with local and state leaders in Indiana to advance our stadium development plans in Hammond, where we are finalizing due diligence details across two sites in the Wolf Lake area.“At the same time, we appreciate the recent engagement from Illinois leadership to explore legislation which has allowed us to share our feedback. “We expect productive dialogue with both leadership teams in the coming weeks. We have a responsibility and obligation to explore every option available to the club, and we look forward to developing a transformational project that will attract global events and deliver jobs and economic growth to all of Chicagoland.”The statement comes eight days after a report emerged that a deal is close on legislation that would keep the team in Illinois. And it does just enough to keep the Indiana option on the table, which keeps just enough pressure on Illinois to do whatever needs to be done.