CHICAGO (AP) — The Chicago Bears are looking to build a stadium in Northwest Indiana after a proposal to provide financial incentives for the NFL team to build its new home in Illinois stalled in the state legislature.
The Bears' board of directors voted Thursday to move forward with a stadium development project in Hammond, Indiana. The team had been doing its due diligence on a tract of land near Wolf Lake, but it said Friday that an exact site had not been selected.
“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," the Bears said in a statement that the team attributed to chairman George McCaskey and team president Kevin Warren. "It will bring Chicagoland together and deliver new opportunities to its residents and businesses.”
Indiana Gov. Mike Braun welcomed the team's announcement. A committee in the Indiana House of Representatives passed a bill in February that established a Northwest Indiana Stadium Authority to finance, construct and lease a stadium.
“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.”
The Bears, a charter NFL franchise, have played in Illinois since the team’s founding in 1920 as the Decatur Staleys. They moved to Chicago in 1921 and called Wrigley Field home before they started playing at Soldier Field in September 1971.
The Bears’ lease runs through 2033, but they can pay a fee to break the lease early. Soldier Field is about 40 miles south of Halas Hall — the team's headquarters in Lake Forest, Illinois — and Hammond is about 20 miles south of the team's lakefront stadium.
Matt Hill, a spokesperson for Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, said the governor "remains open to a sensible solution that protects taxpayers.”
“The Bears have built a storied legacy in Illinois for over 100 years but have spent the last six years, and especially the last few months, shifting their position on a stadium location," Hill said in a statement. “That has hindered their progress. Today appears to be another instance of that after Illinois leaders have been working with the Bears in good faith.”
The Bears also had been considering Arlington Heights — about 30 miles northwest of Chicago — as a potential location for their new stadium.
The Illinois Senate passed a bill early Monday morning that would have cleared the way for Arlington Heights and Chicago to create local stadium authorities, creating a pathway for the Bears to avoid paying property taxes on a new stadium in Illinois. But the House adjourned without taking up the measure on the last day of the state’s spring legislative session.
State Rep. Kam Buckner, whose district includes Soldier Field, posted on social media that he spoke with Warren on Friday morning.
“He ended the conversation by committing to continue discussions around their pursuit of a new stadium in Illinois,” Buckner said.
While the Bears said as recently as May 21 that Hammond and Arlington Heights were the only sites under consideration, Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson has been lobbying for the team to stay in the city.
The mayor's office issued a statement that said the city "will continue to engage in discussions grounded in the interests of our residents."
The Bears still have to secure NFL approval for the location of their new stadium. NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy said the team has kept the league apprised of all developments.
The Bears have been pursuing a new home for years, but the process has been hampered by repeated twists and turns.
The team announced in September 2021 that it had signed a purchase agreement for 326 acres of land in Arlington Heights. The $197 million deal with Churchill Downs Incorporated was finalized in 2023.
In September 2022, the team unveiled a nearly $5 billion plan for Arlington Heights that called for an enclosed stadium that could host Super Bowls and Final Fours. The conceptual illustrations also provided for a year-round entertainment district with restaurants and shopping.
But the Bears shifted their focus toward building a new stadium next to Soldier Field after Warren was hired as team president in January 2023, replacing the retiring Ted Phillips. The plan to transform Chicago’s Museum Campus got an enthusiastic endorsement from Johnson and a tepid reception from Pritzker and state legislators when it was announced in April 2024.
The team switched gears again in May 2025, announcing it had made “significant progress” with local leaders in Arlington Heights.
Amid lingering efforts to secure tax incentives in Illinois, along with as much as $855 million in public money for infrastructure at the Arlington Heights site, the Bears began to take a closer look at possible options in Northwest Indiana.
Hammond Mayor Thomas McDermott Jr. said the Bears decided on Hammond because it's “a successful city of opportunity and possibility, an excellent choice for such a significant investment.”
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FILE - Soldier Field is seen prior to an NFL football game between the Chicago Bears and Green Bay Packers, Dec. 20, 2025, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Kamil Krzaczynski, file)
Chicago Bears offensive linemen warm up during the NFL football team's practice Wednesday, June 3, 2026, in Lake Forest, Ill. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)
The U.S. stock market had its worst day since October Friday as a sell-off in big technology companies weighed down the broader market and a strong jobs report boosted expectations that the Federal Reserve will be forced to hike interest rates at some point this year.
The S&P 500 sank 2.6%, its biggest one-day drop since October 10, when the Trump administration threatened to impose a 100% tariff on imported goods from China. The losses helped push the benchmark index to its first losing week in the last 10.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1.4%, while the Nasdaq composite slumped 4.2%.
Tech stocks dragged the broader market lower as companies that had powered the S&P 500 to a series of records the past two months saw losses. Nvidia fell 6.2%, Broadcom dropped 7.9% and Micron Technology slid 13.3% for the biggest loss among stocks in the S&P 500.
Shares in Meta fell 5.5% following a published report that the social media giant may seek to do a new stock offering to raise funds for spending on AI infrastructure.
Stocks within the S&P 500 were not far from being evenly split between gainers and losers. But, many of the bigger tech stocks have pricey values that tend to have an outsized influence on the broader market.
Meanwhile, bond yields jumped after a report showed the U.S. added a surprising 172,000 jobs in May, according to the Labor Department. It is the latest report showing that employment remains solid, despite the squeeze inflation is putting on businesses and consumers.
The latest reading on employment comes two weeks before Kevin Warsh heads his first policy meeting as chair of the Fed. Policymakers are widely expected to keep rates steady at the June 16-17 meeting despite pressure from President Donald Trump to lower borrowing costs. Longer-term, the market sees a better than 60% chance the Fed will push rates higher by the end of the year, according to CME FedWatch, and little to no chance of a cut.
“Any hopes of a Fed rate cut have effectively been eliminated with this morning’s strong jobs report,” said Ronald Temple, chief market strategist at Lazard, in a research note.
The yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 4.54% from 4.50% just before the report was released. The yield on the 2-year Treasury, which more closely tracks the Fed’s actions, jumped to 4.16% from 4.04% just prior to the report.
The Fed has been holding interest rates steady as it tries to gauge the ongoing impact from rising inflation. Prices were already ticking higher from the impact of tariffs. The U.S. war with Iran has essentially blocked crude oil shipments from moving through the Strait of Hormuz.
The price of Brent crude, the international standard, fell 2% to settle at $93.09. It was about $70 per barrel before the war. The surge in oil prices prompted a jump in gasoline prices. That has fueled a broader rise in inflation as prices for anything being shipped move higher and threaten to slow economic growth.
A measure of inflation preferred by the Fed showed that prices rose 3.8% overall in April. That marked the biggest increase in two years.
Wall Street has been anticipating that negotiations to end the war will eventually be successful. American and Iranian negotiators reached a tentative deal last week to extend their ceasefire, but the agreement has not been finalized.
The latest round of corporate earnings is coming to a close. Lululemon slumped 8.6% after trimming its revenue and profit forecasts.
Most reports from companies have been surprisingly good and helped Wall Street on its record run. Encouraging profits and forecasts helped overshadow lingering worries about the direction of the economy amid tariffs and high energy costs because of the U.S. war with Iran.
With earnings now in the background, analysts have been warning that the tech companies benefiting from interest in artificial intelligence may have become too expensive. That could result in a slowdown for a market that has surged in 2026, with the S&P 500 up 7.9% for the year.
All told, the S&P 500 fell 200.57 points to 7,383.74 on Friday. The Dow dropped 695.15 points to 50,866.78, and the Nasdaq lost 1,121.53 points to close at 25,709.43.
Markets were mixed in Europe after markets in Asia fell.
AP Business Writers Chan Ho-him and Matt Ott contributed to this report.
Specialist John McNierney, left, and trader William Lawrence work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Wednesday, June 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
Specialist Anthony Matesic works at his post on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Wednesday, June 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
A trio of traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Wednesday, June 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
A board above the trading floor of the New York Stock Exchange displays the closing number for the Dow Jones industrial average, Wednesday, June 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
A board above the trading floor of the New York Stock Exchange displays the closing number for the Dow Jones industrial average, Wednesday, June 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
Currency traders pass by a screen showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) and the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won at the foreign exchange dealing room of the Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, June 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
A screen shows South Korean companies's stock prices related to Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, who is scheduled to visit South Korea at the foreign exchange dealing room of the Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, June 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
Currency traders watch monitors near a screen showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) and the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won at the foreign exchange dealing room of the Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, June 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
