Amid the news that the Chicago Bears are considering Hammond for a potential stadium, the Northern Indiana Professional Sports Development Commission will work toward potentially building another stadium for a professional team.
“It’s definitely a possibility. Obviously, the Bears, Hammond is where they want to go here in Northwest Indiana. There are plenty of other cities that can provide a great home for other professional sports teams,” said State Rep. Earl Harris Jr., D-East Chicago, who authored a bill to create the commission.
Following the footsteps of his late father, who was a state legislator, Harris authored a bill to create the commission during the 2025 session with the goal of attracting a professional sports team and stadium to Northwest Indiana.
The state legislature approved a bill this session, Senate Bill 27, that created a framework for the Bears to build a stadium near the Wolf Lake area in Hammond in which the team will invest over $2 billion in the stadium and the state will invest $1 billion through various taxes.
Gov. Mike Braun — who signed the bill into law within an hour of its final approval — and state officials will handle the remaining negotiations with the Bears and the team’s proposal for Hammond, Harris said.
Phil Taillon, commission treasurer and president of the South Shore Convention & Visitor Authority, said when the state legislature passed the bill to create the commission it was a form of marketing for Northwest Indiana.
“It let everybody out there know that we now have this new focus of looking at a pro sports team in this part of the state,” Taillon said. “I would say that there’s probably other teams that now know that Northwest Indiana is on the map for a project in the near future. Could we get more than one pro sports team? Absolutely.”
The commission will move forward with attracting another team to Northwest Indiana, Harris said.
“We did discuss, and we’re in the process of, creating a plan to go out and pursue other sports teams, other stadium options. We are in the process of finalizing that request for quotation to get that plan drawn up, and we’ll work on that to pursue other opportunities out there,” Harris said.
Don Popravak, the vice chair of the commission, said the commission has been “sorting out the language” of the request for quotation.
The commission would be open to building a stadium for an existing team looking for a new location or for a whole new team joining a professional sports league, Harris said.
“I think it’s shown how viable an option we are. I’m sure there are people who maybe didn’t look at Northwest Indiana previously that are now looking at us as an option,” Harris said.
Popravak said the commission has been discussing the Bears a lot “because they put Indiana in the mix.” Now, the commission will focus on championing the Bears plan while looking to secure another sports team.
“Northwest Indiana is a big territory. There are a lot of opportunities there. There are a lot of hungry cities there,” Popravak said, pointing to Gary and Portage who both offered proposals for a Bears stadium.
Taillon said the commission has been focusing on advocacy for the Bears potentially building a stadium in Northwest Indiana, as well as marketing Northwest Indiana as a location for a professional sports team.
“We’re in the early stages of planning and laying the groundwork for what will make us successful as a commission in the future,” Taillon said.
Thinking of his father, Harris said he would be pleased with the possibility of two stadiums in Northwest Indiana.
“Dad always thought big in terms of Northwest Indiana, what we have here with our current assets and what we could grow into,” Harris said. “The possibility of the Bears plus at least one more professional sports team coming to the area, he would be ecstatic about that.”
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