Indiana’s pitch for a new Chicago Bears stadium would include about a billion dollars in taxpayer money, though Porter County Commissioner Jim Biggs believes a take hike will be a tough sell.
Biggs said he has concerns about the high cost of living.
“To collect millions of dollars here and send it across county lines for something like a sports stadium … why would we do that?” said Biggs from District 3. “We have our own problems to deal with.”
The stadium bill passed by Indiana lawmakers tasks Lake and Porter counties with adopting a 1% food and beverage tax before July of 2027, plus an innkeeper’s tax in Lake County and a ticket tax in Hammond.
In downtown Valparaiso, more than 30 miles from where the stadium would go in Hammond, there’s skepticism and excitement about a potential Bears move to Indiana.
“I still think there’s a lot of ploys going on in Illinois. So, like I said, I’ll believe it when I see it,” said Bob Evans.
“I’m happy with it. I can’t wait. If they come here, I would love it. I would go to a lot more games than I do now in Chicago to fight the traffic,” said Debbie Evans.
The Bears deal was modeled after the deal for the Colts stadium in Indianapolis, which also taxes surrounding counties.
“We never want to raise prices or we never want more taxes, but 1% is pretty, pretty low,” said Chuck Scates, a Valparaiso resident and owner of FLUID Coffee Roasters.
The owners of FLUID Coffee Roasters said taxes are among their biggest expenses, but they believe the benefits would outweigh the costs.
“I think tourism would bring more people to our local business, and I think that would be a good thing. It’s also exciting. We are Bears fans, so it would be fun,” said owner Alison Scates.
Biggs remains skeptical.
“Bears fans going to the game that day … they’re not going to drive down to Valparaiso or Hebron or Kouts to go to a restaurant,” Biggs said.
