Is “The 78” Dead? Or even more alive? Fire announce plans for SSS

[Buehrle>Wood]

The 78 itself is going to get like a billion in public funds but since it isn't paying for a brick in the stadium, it doesnt count. 

[southsider2k5]

6 minutes ago, Buehrle>Wood said:

The 78 itself is going to get like a billion in public funds but since it isn't paying for a brick in the stadium, it doesnt count. 

And a large portion of it happens if the Sox are there or not, so honestly, it makes more sense to have two teams there to justify the costs for something like 100 nights a year, instead of just the soccer schedule.

[nrockway]

12 hours ago, Green Line said:

What????

It means bourgeois. It’s a wealthy area. Take a Time Machine to when the projects existed. We wish they still did. 

[greg775]

On 1/13/2026 at 5:31 PM, Lip Man 1 said:

Gov. JB Pritzker and legislative leaders in Springfield have signaled a willingness to chip in on infrastructure, but they’ve urged the team to identify a mechanism to pay off more than half a billion dollars still owed on Soldier Field’s 2003 renovation as a condition to getting any legislative help.

“Building a stadium is, from my perspective, about doing what’s best for the taxpayers,” Pritzker said Tuesday. “This is a private business. We help private businesses all the time in the state, and I want to help if it’s with infrastructure, as we do with other private businesses — that’s absolutely a way we could do that. But as I’ve said, and the Bears have heard this, that we’re not going to build a stadium for the Chicago Bears.”

https://chicago.suntimes.com/bears-stadium/2026/01/13/bears-survey-season-ticket-holders-northwest-indiana-stadium-arlington-heights

Now that the Bears have a good coach and some good young players and are good again ... don't discount that in negotiations. Pritzker will soften. Bears will stay in Chicago. I still say Arlington Heights would be nirvana for them just like the Cowboys' complex, etc.

[WBWSF]

11 hours ago, greg775 said:

Now that the Bears have a good coach and some good young players and are good again ... don't discount that in negotiations. Pritzker will soften. Bears will stay in Chicago. I still say Arlington Heights would be nirvana for them just like the Cowboys' complex, etc.

I  read where property taxes in Arlington Heights are $210 million dollars a year at the stadium site. I would think the  property taxes will be much less in Indiana.

[southsider2k5]

13 minutes ago, WBWSF said:

I  read where property taxes in Arlington Heights are $210 million dollars a year at the stadium site. I would think the  property taxes will be much less in Indiana.

Capped at 3% of value.  Welcome to the 1/2/3 laws.  My primary residence can't be taxed anymore than 1% of NAV. For businesses and 2nd homes it is 3%.  If they value the site at $1 billion in NAV, the Bears would be capped at $30 million per year in property taxes.

[WBWSF]

1 hour ago, southsider2k5 said:

Capped at 3% of value.  Welcome to the 1/2/3 laws.  My primary residence can't be taxed anymore than 1% of NAV. For businesses and 2nd homes it is 3%.  If they value the site at $1 billion in NAV, the Bears would be capped at $30 million per year in property taxes.

Do you mean they would be capped at $30 million per year in Indiana?

[southsider2k5]

2 minutes ago, WBWSF said:

Do you mean they would be capped at $30 million per year in Indiana?

If the site is valued at $1 billion, by constitutional property tax law in Indiana, they cannot be charged more than $30 million (3%) for that year's property taxes.  Valuations can increase over time, but the rate cannot change, and would always max out at 3%.

For a primary residence that number is 1%,  So if you have a $250,000 k house, your max is $2500.

[WBWSF]

1 hour ago, southsider2k5 said:

If the site is valued at $1 billion, by constitutional property tax law in Indiana, they cannot be charged more than $30 million (3%) for that year's property taxes.  Valuations can increase over time, but the rate cannot change, and would always max out at 3%.

For a primary residence that number is 1%,  So if you have a $250,000 k house, your max is $2500.

I would assume you know what you're talking about. So if the Bears stadium is valued at $2 billion in Indiana their taxes would be $60 million as opposed to $210 million in Arlington Heights. If all this is true we shouldn't be surprised if the Bears move to Indiana.

[southsider2k5]

16 minutes ago, WBWSF said:

I would assume you know what you're talking about. So if the Bears stadium is valued at $2 billion in Indiana their taxes would be $60 million as opposed to $210 million in Arlington Heights. If all this is true we shouldn't be surprised if the Bears move to Indiana.

100% accurate. 

[Ducksnort]

"Bear down, Chicago Bears. You're the pride and joy of...Indiana..." 

Edited 21 hours ago by Ducksnort

[Lip Man 1]

1 hour ago, Ducksnort said:

"Bear down, Chicago Bears. You're the pride and joy of...Indiana..." 

They'll still be the Chicago Bears if they play in Northwest Indiana. It's only a name after all.

[Ducksnort]

46 minutes ago, Lip Man 1 said:

They'll still be the Chicago Bears if they play in Northwest Indiana. It's only a name after all.

I know but the song will be a little weird if they do move there lol.

I think they'll stay in Chicago ultimately. They'll figure it out. I have no information to make that up other than it's my gut.

[greg775]

6 hours ago, Ducksnort said:

I know but the song will be a little weird if they do move there lol.

I think they'll stay in Chicago ultimately. They'll figure it out. I have no information to make that up other than it's my gut.

Will the NFL even allow them to move to Indiana? Cmon, the team is the Chicago Bears. The NFL doesn't want them in Indiana. Calling them the Chicago Bears with them residing in Indiana would be weird and wrong. I agree even if they can save a ton of money they won't move to Indiana. I guess if Pritzger talks tough and doesn't back down at all, the Bears could take their ball and go home so to speak, but does anybody actually think they'd move to Indiana. I don't care how much they'd save it won't happen. What odds do you give a move to Indy? I'd say 5-10%.

[southsider2k5]

7 hours ago, greg775 said:

Will the NFL even allow them to move to Indiana? Cmon, the team is the Chicago Bears. The NFL doesn't want them in Indiana. Calling them the Chicago Bears with them residing in Indiana would be weird and wrong. I agree even if they can save a ton of money they won't move to Indiana. I guess if Pritzger talks tough and doesn't back down at all, the Bears could take their ball and go home so to speak, but does anybody actually think they'd move to Indiana. I don't care how much they'd save it won't happen. What odds do you give a move to Indy? I'd say 5-10%.

Do you know sports at all?  Almost 1/3 of the NFL isn't located in the town in their name.  Both NY teams are in NJ.  Washington is in Maryland.  

[WBWSF]

I wonder  what the main details of the Indiana stadium bill are. Do the Bears get a sweetheart deal where they keep the ticket sales revenue, concessions and parking? I can't find that information anywhere.  I know the offer is to have the Bears own the stadium after paying off the debt. I don't when that will be.

[HoosierSox]

NW IN is closer to Chicago than Arlington Heights. I don't get the can't be in IN talk. I would say NW IN is part of Chicagoland. It is right across the border.

[Lip Man 1]

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/01/16/arlington-heights-chicago-bears-lawmakers/

[WBWSF]

I 've been told the Bears will build their stadium in Indiana and be the owner of the stadium and lease the land. Is that possible? Would this be because this is the way to avoid paying property taxes on the stadium? If they did lease the land, I wonder how much it would cost them to lease the land?

[southsider2k5]

24 minutes ago, WBWSF said:

I 've been told the Bears will build their stadium in Indiana and be the owner of the stadium and lease the land. Is that possible? Would this be because this is the way to avoid paying property taxes on the stadium? If they did lease the land, I wonder how much it would cost them to lease the land?

Unless to have a line to the McCaskeys, that is impossible to know

[Lip Man 1]

53 minutes ago, WBWSF said:

I 've been told the Bears will build their stadium in Indiana and be the owner of the stadium and lease the land. Is that possible? Would this be because this is the way to avoid paying property taxes on the stadium? If they did lease the land, I wonder how much it would cost them to lease the land?

Don't know if this answers your question but this is from the Tribune story I linked to:

"Without the bill, the Bears might be on the hook for an annual tax bill of $100 million to $200 million, which would kill the deal, Mayor Tinaglia said.

Currently, the Bears and Chicago White Sox pay zero property taxes on their stadiums, because they are publicly owned. The Cubs pay about $3 million a year, and the Bulls and Black Hawks about $6 million annually, according to an analysis by former state Rep. Mark Batinick.

The highest property tax bill in the country for a sports stadium is $8 million a year for SoFi Stadium outside Los Angeles.