(104.3 The Score) The Bears are “working hard” on moving their stadium project forward in northwest Indiana, Hammond mayor Thomas McDermott told the Mully & Haugh Show on Wednesday.
McDermott made the comments five days after the Bears announced their full focus is on Hammond, where they’re evaluating multiple sites for a new stadium. McDermott isn’t concerned that the Bears are stalling to buy more time for Illinois lawmakers to make a last-ditch offer to keep the Bears in the state, but he also knows there’s more work for Indiana to do.
“I’m confident we’re the only location being looked at, but I’m not cocky about that,” McDermott said. “I want the groundbreaking, I want construction underway, and then I’ll start feeling a lot more secure.”
The Bears are looking at multiple locations in Hammond, with the Lost Marsh Golf Course the only publicly known option. Located roughly two miles south of Lake Michigan, the course is currently owned by a private business. But it’s another undisclosed location in Hammond that seems to be gaining momentum.
“It was a good curveball,” McDermott said of the Bears looking at multiple locations. “I think what the Bears are doing right now, I think, is even more positive than the original plan. So I’m excited and that was why, in my opinion, that’s why the language of the press release on Friday was vague. I understood why it was vague, but I also understood why a lot of Chicago media picked that statement apart and made it seem like Hammond wasn’t the only location. I don’t agree with that, but, you know, it doesn’t matter what I think. It doesn’t matter until they put shovels in the ground.”
With multiple locations on the table for the Bears, the organization would likely conduct environmental testing at each site before honing in on one selection. McDermott added that the organization’s environmental testing won't take “super long” because the site is “clean,” but he understands the Bears want to complete their due diligence before building a multibillion-dollar complex.
“They’re working hard on Hammond as we speak,” McDermott said. “Everybody, including the state government, is looking at this new location, and, you know, I imagine we’re going to do some environmentals to confirm what we already know, but the Bears have to confirm it for themselves.”
During his appearance with Mully & Haugh, McDermott flashed an “Indiana Bears” shirt that he was wearing under a Caleb Williams jersey, but he assured listeners that changing the team’s longtime name isn’t a part of any plan.
“We don’t expect them to change their name in any way,” McDermott said. “I would be mad at myself if we insisted on that. It’s going to be the Chicago Bears, and they’ll just be playing out of Hammond, Indiana.”
