The Chicago Bears provided a major update on Friday in their pursuit of a new stadium site, saying the team’s board of directors voted to “advance” a stadium project in Hammond, Indiana.
The move comes just days after Illinois lawmakers failed to approve legislation aimed at keeping the team in Illinois.
The Bears spent months considering potential sites, including in Hammond and Arlington Heights, and said after Illinois’ legislative session they remained “on the late spring/early summer timeline” for a decision.
While an exact location hasn’t been determined, Hammond’s proposal centers on a site near the Lost Marsh Golf Course along Wolf Lake, close to the Indiana Toll Road, Cline Avenue and Interstate 80/94.
With the team one step closer to breaking ground on a new stadium, fans turned to Google with a key question – how far is Hammond from Chicago?
READ: Chicago Bears’ full statement announcing latest stadium update
As a reference point, the golf course is 19.9 miles southeast of the Loop, according to Google Maps, and roughly 2 to 3 miles from the Illinois state line and Chicago city limits. For additional context, downtown Hammond is about 25.5 miles from the Loop.
A Friday afternoon, rush-hour drive to Hammond was said to take 40 minutes, with Google Maps estimating typical travel times between 26 and 45 minutes, depending on the time of day.
It’s notably farther from the Loop than Soldier Field, which is located a couple miles south.
But is Hammond closer to downtown Chicago than Arlington Heights?
The former Arlington Park racetrack, previously purchased by the Bears to become the home for the stadium and touted by the village as a ” highly viable” redevelopment site, is roughly 29 miles from the Loop.
A rush-hour commute on Friday afternoon was estimated at 1 hour and 6 minutes, with heavy traffic for much of the drive, Google Maps showed. The trip is typically said to take anywhere from 35 minutes to 1 hour and 20 minutes.
