The Indiana Bears?

[Magooch]

It's a really weird situation for them.

The proposed new location in Arlington Heights is about 30 miles from Soldier Field currently. It's about a 45 minute drive if you're lucky but probably closer to an hour at least

Hammond is also just shy of 30 miles from Soldier Field, but it's a little more travel friendly IMO. To get from Soldier Field to Hammond you're heading away from the city so it's not as busy, on a good day it's gonna be 30-40 minutes.

For most "average" fans, Hammond will probably be closer and more affordable to get to....BUT, on the other hand, Arlington Heights is way closer to the north side, which is much wealthier. And if I had to guess, the team might not come out and say it, but they probably have a big interest in keeping close to their wealthier fans and you'd also expect a lot of the boxes and corporate seating to be going to folks more often from the north side.

I guess another way of saying it is...the Hammond site probably is more accessible for the "common" fan. But the Arlington Heights one probably brings in more fans who the team thinks will bring more money into the picture.

One thing I'm not clear of is whether or not the team intends to move their headquarters or not? Halas Hall is where their outdoor and indoor practice fields are, all their offices and meeting rooms, rehab and recovery spots, and some event spaces that they use again for "corporate partners" and VIPs and whatnot... But Halas Hall is in Lake Forest on the north side too. It's only about 30 minutes away from the proposed Arlington Heights spot, while it's currently about an hour from Soldier Field, and like 90 minutes from Hammond IN. That's probably worse on gamedays and busier times, you basically have to cross the entire city. Realistically you may very well be looking at a 4 hour round trip from Halas Hall to Hammond IN on gamedays assuming they are traveling together and not moving their HQ.

 

[Pokerbrat2000]

Man, didn't they just improve their stadium?

In 2003

They spent $690M to upgrade Soldier Field. Of which, tax payers contributed $432M of. The NFL and the Bears organization paid for the rest.

By "upgrade", I mean they reduced seating capacity from 66,944 to 61,500. Which still makes it the smallest NFL stadium by capacity.

Let's face it folks. NFL teams don't care about the joe average fan, they want wealthy fans, posh housing and for the tax payers to pay for it all, while they keep printing their own money.

 

[Poppa San]

In 2003

They spent $690M to upgrade Soldier Field. Of which, tax payers contributed $432M of. The NFL and the Bears organization paid for the rest.

By "upgrade", I mean they reduced seating capacity from 66,944 to 61,500. Which still makes it the smallest NFL stadium by capacity.

Let's face it folks. NFL teams don't care about the joe average fan, they want wealthy fans, posh housing and for the tax payers to pay for it all, while they keep printing their own money.

Bread & circuses to keep the riff raff content. Still not near as bad as what the WNBA is degenerating into. WWE territory.

 

[milani]

It's a really weird situation for them.

The proposed new location in Arlington Heights is about 30 miles from Soldier Field currently. It's about a 45 minute drive if you're lucky but probably closer to an hour at least

Hammond is also just shy of 30 miles from Soldier Field, but it's a little more travel friendly IMO. To get from Soldier Field to Hammond you're heading away from the city so it's not as busy, on a good day it's gonna be 30-40 minutes.

For most "average" fans, Hammond will probably be closer and more affordable to get to....BUT, on the other hand, Arlington Heights is way closer to the north side, which is much wealthier. And if I had to guess, the team might not come out and say it, but they probably have a big interest in keeping close to their wealthier fans and you'd also expect a lot of the boxes and corporate seating to be going to folks more often from the north side.

I guess another way of saying it is...the Hammond site probably is more accessible for the "common" fan. But the Arlington Heights one probably brings in more fans who the team thinks will bring more money into the picture.

One thing I'm not clear of is whether or not the team intends to move their headquarters or not? Halas Hall is where their outdoor and indoor practice fields are, all their offices and meeting rooms, rehab and recovery spots, and some event spaces that they use again for "corporate partners" and VIPs and whatnot... But Halas Hall is in Lake Forest on the north side too. It's only about 30 minutes away from the proposed Arlington Heights spot, while it's currently about an hour from Soldier Field, and like 90 minutes from Hammond IN. That's probably worse on gamedays and busier times, you basically have to cross the entire city. Realistically you may very well be looking at a 4 hour round trip from Halas Hall to Hammond IN on gamedays assuming they are traveling together and not moving their HQ.

Wasn't it about 3 or 4 decades ago that the White Sox were looking to move to a location in the Western suburbs but the governor pulled a number of strings to keep them in the city?

 

[Pokerbrat2000]

Bread & circuses to keep the riff raff content. Still not near as bad as what the WNBA is degenerating into. WWE territory.

Are we slowly circling back to Gladiator events to entertain the pheasants and kings?

AI is completely invading TV and movies, will an AI Professional Sport league come in and start knocking off some of the competitors? If I didn't go to Packer games, I would never know the difference on TV. Every NFL market could have their own outcomes. 32 Superbowl winners!

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[rmontro]

BUT, on the other hand, Arlington Heights is way closer to the north side, which is much wealthier. And if I had to guess, the team might not come out and say it, but they probably have a big interest in keeping close to their wealthier fans and you'd also expect a lot of the boxes and corporate seating to be going to folks more often from the north side.

They could always start selling stock...

AI is completely invading TV and movies, will an AI Professional Sport league come in and start knocking off some of the competitors? If I didn't go to Packer games, I would never know the difference on TV. Every NFL market could have their own outcomes. 32 Superbowl winners!

Might be better than relying on MLF.

 

[gopkrs]

They try to trick you imho for the NBA playoffs. They start yesterday's games at the same time on a Chanel that seems like the right one.

 

[Heyjoe4]

Being a northern Indiana resident I already deal enough with Bears fans LOL

Riots...nah, essentially our NW corner is a suburb of Chicago in most ways....high crime rate...tons of political issues....they'd feel at home LOL

Sounds like Milwaukee in all aspects, esp “suburb of Chicago”.

Well the Giants play in Jersey, so there’s precedent.

Not sure why they don’t build at the now defunct Arlington race track. Seems perfect.

 

[Heyjoe4]

I wouldn't be too surprised to see it go through, but yeah, "The Region" is basically just Chicago East....

And of course, the plan has always been to leave Soldier Field (and by extension won't technically be in "Chicago" anymore either way). If it's not Indiana, they'll probably go through with the move to Arlington Heights.

Ironically Arlington Heights, while still in Illinois, is further from Soldier Field (30 miles) than the proposed site in Hammond, IN is (27 miles) lol

To be fair though a lot of fans come in from the north or west side of the city so it's moving the opposite direction for a lot of them. Coupled with the city traffic it makes a considerable commute to/from for gamedays. But technically speaking the Indiana site is "closer" than their proposed IL move

I think the Arlington site is the best. The racetrack is now an eyesore. There’s a lot of room for the stadium and parking.

 

[Heyjoe4]

The Bears will still suck no matter what state they are in

We must never forget this EG. Thanks.

 

[Heyjoe4]

New York has I believe two teams in New Jersey no?

I mentioned the Giants but yeah, the Jets play in NJ as well.

 

[Heyjoe4]

The Bears in Arlington Hts. would've been fantastic for the suburbanites who actually attend & fund the Bears... but the Bears ownership completely botched negotiations. I'm guessing they'll fumble negotiations with Indiana, as well. Look for the Bears in Soldier Field for the next decade, with the Parks Dept. continuing their crap care of the painted dirt.

How did the Bears’ FO botch talks with Arlington? It seems like the ideal spot for a new Bears’ stadium.

 

[DoURant]

How did the Bears’ FO botch talks with Arlington? It seems like the ideal spot for a new Bears’ stadium.

Because Da Bears are Em-Bear-assing

 

[rmontro]

How did the Bears’ FO botch talks with Arlington? It seems like the ideal spot for a new Bears’ stadium.

The ideal spot for the Bears stadium would be the dark side of the moon.

 

[milani]

Sounds like Milwaukee in all aspects, esp “suburb of Chicago”.

Well the Giants play in Jersey, so there’s precedent.

Not sure why they don’t build at the now defunct Arlington race track. Seems perfect.

Funny, way back in the day one Chicago station would show the feature race at Arlington during the sports portion of its 6PM local news. " And they're off! "

 

[Pokerbrat2000]

They try to trick you imho for the NBA playoffs. They start yesterday's games at the same time on a Chanel that seems like the right one.

I haven't watched an NBA game since.....I don't even know, maybe December? Once it was apparent that the Bucks were a joke, I checked out. I noticed that Prime was carrying a lot of the earlier playoff games, it will be interesting to hear if they felt it was a profitable endeavor.

 

[milani]

I haven't watched an NBA game since.....I don't even know, maybe December? Once it was apparent that the Bucks were a joke, I checked out. I noticed that Prime was carrying a lot of the earlier playoff games, it will be interesting to hear if they felt it was a profitable endeavor.

NHL has been using a combination of ESPN and TNT. Not helping their ratings but maybe making some money. It is too bad that games cannot be carried simply by the traditional non-cable stations or even local ones. I know Canada has its network but I do not know if it is packaged.

 

[rmontro]

I haven't watched an NBA game since.....I don't even know, maybe December? Once it was apparent that the Bucks were a joke, I checked out.

I watched last year since the Pacers were in it. Not this year though with Haliburton hurt. Overall, I gave up on the NBA a long time ago. Oddly, I usually watch the Fever games in the WNBA. I wouldn't pay them any attention if it weren't for Caitlin Clark, but I do really like the 10 minute quarters. They can always get a game in within a tight two hours, which I find refreshing.

 

[Pokerbrat2000]

NHL has been using a combination of ESPN and TNT. Not helping their ratings but maybe making some money. It is too bad that games cannot be carried simply by the traditional non-cable stations or even local ones. I know Canada has its network but I do not know if it is packaged.

I have mainly switched to streaming services for my TV viewing pleasure. I hate commercials and try to avoid having to watch anything that is constantly being interrupted by them. Sadly, even streaming news and entertainment videos online that were once free and uninterrupted to watch have taken to throwing in "commercial breaks".

If this site ever made us watch 2 minutes of commercials after every post we write or read, I'd be out the door fast.

 

[rmontro]

I have mainly switched to streaming services for my TV viewing pleasure. I hate commercials and try to avoid having to watch anything that is constantly being interrupted by them. Sadly, even streaming news and entertainment videos online that were once free and uninterrupted to watch have taken to throwing in "commercial breaks".

YouTube's gotten pretty bad with that too.

 

[Pokerbrat2000]

YouTube's gotten pretty bad with that too.

Totally!

I used to love streaming music via YT and now I can't without constant commercials and if I am not near my computer to click "Skip" after the first 1 or 2 ads, they just keep playing them.

I get it. Ads pay for service and they, like anyone, want to and need to make money to stay afloat.

In the infamous words of Rumpelstiltskin.....

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[gopkrs]

I haven't watched an NBA game since.....I don't even know, maybe December? Once it was apparent that the Bucks were a joke, I checked out. I noticed that Prime was carrying a lot of the earlier playoff games, it will be interesting to hear if they felt it was a profitable endeavor.

I watched San Antonio and Minnesota last night. Quite a game. And the tall thin kid is amazing to watch.

 

[gopkrs]

I have mainly switched to streaming services for my TV viewing pleasure. I hate commercials and try to avoid having to watch anything that is constantly being interrupted by them. Sadly, even streaming news and entertainment videos online that were once free and uninterrupted to watch have taken to throwing in "commercial breaks".

If this site ever made us watch 2 minutes of commercials after every post we write or read, I'd be out the door fast.

Yeah, the timeouts at the end of games is absurd for the fan.

 

[Pokerbrat2000]

Yeah, the timeouts at the end of games is absurd for the fan.

You really notice all the commercial timeouts when you are at a game. Just sitting there, looking at the teams waiting for the official to tell them "We're back on TV." At least at home you can channel surf for 2 minutes, get food, bathroom break, etc. I also notice that the younger fans have their phones out during games, scrolling and looking up when the crowd roars. What a way to live life, glued to a screen. Typing that as I am looking at my screen made me laugh.

 

[Pokerbrat2000]

I watched San Antonio and Minnesota last night. Quite a game. And the tall thin kid is amazing to watch.

I didn't know that San Antonio had a baseball team.