Plan to lure Chicago sports team to Northwest Indiana strikes out at Statehouse

House Bill 1174, sponsored by state Rep. Earl Harris Jr., D-East Chicago, did not move out of the House Ways and Means Committee during the first half of the Indiana legislative session.

That means the proposal likely is dead for the year absent some extraordinary legislative maneuvering prior to the General Assembly's March 14 statutory adjournment date.

"House Bill 1174 not moving forward yet is not an end to our push to get the Chicago Bears and other sports teams to move to Northwest Indiana. This sports development commission is a long-term goal — one started by my father while he was in the state legislature — and I look forward to continuing the work in coming sessions," Harris said.

Harris' legislation would have established a 19-member Northwest Indiana Professional Sports Development Commission tasked with studying the possibility of attracting a professional sports team to the Region, along with developing a master plan for doing so.

The measure did not provide funding or any other means to construct a pro sports stadium in Northwest Indiana. A separate plan, likely requiring substantial state investment — similar to the 2005 Indianapolis Colts stadium law — would have been needed to take that step.

Nevertheless, Harris said he hopes the owners of the Chicago Bears and the Chicago White Sox still will seriously consider Northwest Indiana sites as they actively look for new stadium homes.

"East Chicago and Lake County offer numerous benefits to sports teams, particularly those on the other side of the Illinois state line. Moving teams, specifically Chicago teams, to Northwest Indiana would offer less expensive amenities and would still be close enough for fans living in Illinois to easily travel to games," Harris said.

Harris also emphasized that Lake County should get behind the idea of a professional sports commission as a next step in its economic development following the billions of dollars recently invested in highway and commuter rail improvements.

"I firmly believe that a sports development commission to bring different teams from various leagues would improve Northwest Indiana across the board," Harris said. "This would grow jobs, enhance education and would draw attention to Northwest Indiana and the myriad assets we have in our community."

To that end, Harris anticipates refining his proposal in coming months and refiling it during the 2025 budget session of the General Assembly if he wins a fifth term representing Indiana House District 2 in this year's elections.

"I look forward to working with community members and stakeholders in Lake County to reimagine what a sports development commission would look like for the county as a whole and plan to reintroduce this legislation," Harris said.

Northwest Indiana had a chance to lure the Chicago Bears to a lakefront site in Gary in the mid-1990s when Chicago officials initially balked at renovating Soldier Field. But that deal fell apart when the Lake County Council refused to consider a county income tax to support the "Planet Park" development.