Chicago Bears Say Hammond Is the Focus, But Is It Really?

The Chicago Bears announced a new stadium update on Thursday, but all it managed to do was make Illinois Bears fans even more frustrated.

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Hard Time to Be a Bears Fan

As a lifelong Illinois resident, I grew up a Chicago Bears fan because my entire family is.

I'll admit that watching the Bears on television isn't my favorite thing to do and I don't follow every move the team makes, but even I have officially reached the point where I dread seeing the words “Bears announce stadium update.”

Thursday's announcement is another chapter in that saga.

Chicago Bears Say Hammond Is Their 'Sole Focus' Right Now?

On Thursday, an article from WNDU came up on my social media feed with a headline that said: "Chicago Bears Say Hammond Is 'Sole Focus' For New Stadium".

Really?

I decided to hunt down audio from the press conference, and what I'm hearing Bears Chairman George McCaskey say here doesn't sound like a ‘sole focus’ to me:

So, we all may be happy to hear the team will always be called the Chicago Bears, but is the sole focus for the new stadium really in Hammond, Indiana?

The Illinoisan in me refuses to accept that. I think this is just another attempt by the Bears to pressure the State of Illinois to get with the program.

Latest Chicago Bears Stadium News

Thursday's press conference revealedl that the Chicago Bears are looking at two Hammond-area sites, at Lost Marsh and Wolf Lake Terminal, and there's even talk about potentially combining the two.

Meanwhile, the Arlington Heights plan is still sitting in the corner waiting to see if anybody in Springfield finally blinks.

THIS is the part that makes me crazy.

The Bears keep telling us how serious they are about Indiana. They keep announcing progress. They keep talking about Hammond. They keep reminding Illinois that Indiana is ready to play ball. Then they say “no final decision has been made.”

Maybe I'm just a hopeful fan, but to me it sounds like the Chicago Bears really don't want to leave home, and they are giving the State of Illinois every chance possible to make things right.

At this point, I think most Bears fans would agree: we don't need another stadium announcement.

We need someone to actually pick a dang stadium location. Preferably one that doesn't require us to cross a state line to watch a Chicago Bears home game.