June 5 (Reuters) - The Chicago Bears' board of directors voted to move forward with plans to build a stadium in Hammond, Indiana, the club said on Friday, positioning the team to play home games out of state for the first time in their history.
In a statement, Bears chairman George H. McCaskey and president and CEO Kevin Warren said an exact stadium site in Hammond had yet to be selected.
Thursday's meeting was the first time that the Bears' board has voted on any stadium site.
"We believe a world-class
stadium project in Hammond will transform the region, connecting Northwest Indiana to the South Side of Chicago through the Loop and across neighborhoods and suburbs stretching north of the city," they said.
"It will bring Chicagoland together and deliver new opportunities to its residents and businesses."
The move comes four days after the Bears said they remained on a "late spring/early summer timeline" for evaluating potential stadium sites in Hammond and Arlington Heights, Illinois.
Earlier this week, Illinois lawmakers adjourned their spring legislative session without approving a bill incentivizing the Bears to build a new stadium in the state.
The team currently owns 326 acres of land at the site of the former Arlington Park horse race track.
The measure would have allowed the Bears to fund the construction of a stadium that would be publicly owned, meaning the team would not have to pay property taxes.
The Bears have dedicated $2 billion toward stadium construction but have maintained that they need tax certainty to move forward with any project.
Indiana had already offered the Bears up to $1 billion in incentives to build a new stadium in Hammond.
While a move away from Illinois has not been finalized, Indiana Governor Mike Braun welcomed the team's news on Friday.
"We look forward to building a partnership as strong as the '85 Bears defense, creating opportunities and economic growth that will benefit our state and the Bears organization for decades to come," Braun said in a statement.
"An NFL franchise in Northwest Indiana will be an economic boost to the entire region like we haven’t seen before."
Building a stadium in Indiana would position the Bears to play home games out of state for the first time in their 106-year history. They currently play at the city-owned Soldier Field in Chicago, with a lease that runs through 2033.
(Reporting by Nicole Fernandes in Toronto; Editing by Ken Ferris)
