Hammond Mayor Tom McDermott Jr. said that the Bears “could have an update as soon as September” on the team’s plans for a new stadium in the Indiana city, according to Mickey Shuey of the INDIANA BUSINESS JOURNAL. McDermott mentioned that he “does not expect a stadium agreement to be finalized until the Bears complete their due diligence on a site the team is considering,” but said that he is “hopeful the city will have something concrete in place next month.” He said, “Only they know the timeline; anything else is pure speculation.” It was reported that Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker “remains skeptical that the Bears want to leave Illinois.” During an agriculture event Monday in Shirley, Ill., Pritzker addressed the Bears’ stadium plans and said that he “does not believe the team actually intends to move across the state line” (INDIANA BUSINESS JOURNAL, 8/11).
SITE SEARCHING: Bears owner & Chair George McCaskey said that the next update regarding the team’s stadium project in Northwest Indiana “may not be far away.” He said, “We’re doing some due diligence on a second site in Hammond, and I think Kevin (Warren, Bears CEO and president) and I will have more to report in the coming days.” In Indiana, Mason Williams noted the site McCaskey is referencing is located at Wolf Lake Terminals. Reporters “spotted soil drilling equipment earlier this summer that is used to test potential construction sites on the grounds.” A team spokesman “later confirmed that the machinery was testing the ground for a potential stadium site.” Similar equipment was “used to conduct preliminary testing at Wolf Lake Memorial Park back in December” (NORTHWEST INDIANA TIMES, 8/10).
