The Mayor of Hammond is sounding like he’s pretty certain that the Bears are moving to his city.
To hear Mayor Thomas McDermott Jr. tell it, Illinois lawmakers should not waste their time with another attempt to keep the Bears in the state.
He noted the vague wording in the Bears announcement last Friday.
It reads, in part, “The Chicago Bears Board of Directors met and voted to advance our stadium development project in Hammond, Indiana, with the exact site to be selected.”
McDermott was addressing members of the Hammond City Council and the public during a meeting on Monday night.
“A lot of people in the Chicago media are criticizing what they thought was vague wording from the Chicago Bears,” McDermott said. “I’m not criticizing it. I know why it was vague. I can’t talk about that right now. But the Bears are coming to Hammond, Indiana, okay. I want you to know that.”
There was applause in the council chambers.
“It’s vague for a lot of complex reasons,” McDermott went on to say.
Earlier, the mayor said, “it’s like hitting the lotto for our city. It’s transformational. People are going to be coming to Hammond, Indiana for Super Bowls, for football games, for concerts. It’s pretty amazing.”
He concluded by saying “we’re going to be the home stadium.”
McDermott later clarified during a podcast that "there's more than one site in Hammond."
That's what the Bears meant, he said, and that's why the statement was viewed as vague.
