Rahimi, Harris & Grote Show - Best of the Bears: Stadium push in Indiana gains momentum

Episode Date: February 21, 2026

In the Best of the Bears this week, Indiana Gov. Mike Braun joined the Spiegel & Holmes Show to discuss his state's attempt to lure the Bears to build a new stadium in Hammond; Matt Spiegel and Laurence Holmes explained why they're still skeptical that the Bears will move to Indiana; and Spiegel and Holmes opened the phone lines for Score callers to sound off on the Bears potentially moving to Indiana.

Hey, this is John Rothstein, the host of Inside College Basketball now, part of the CBS Sports Podcast Network reminding you that our show is going ramp up over the next two months. That's because we're counting down to Selection Sunday and March Madness. We will be coming to you each and every week with multiple episodes featuring exclusive interviews with the biggest and best names in the sport. It's the all-you-can-eat buffet for college basketball junkies everywhere. Follow and listen to Inside College Basketball now on the free Odyssey app or wherever you get. your podcast. Thanks, everybody. The Bears. You're listening to the best of the Bears. He's it for the touchdown. And the Chicago Bears have taken the league. A weekly mix of 670,

the score's best NFL talk to get you ready for game day. An Odyssey Sports Station. Spiegel and Holmes. Okay. Here we go, sports fans. Afternoons on the score. It's my face straight. Okay.

All right, keep a straight face here. The Bears belong in the city of Chicago. The passage of Senate Bill 27 would mark the most meaningful step forward in our stadium planning efforts to date. We are committed to finishing the remaining site-specific, necessary due diligence to support our vision to build a world-class stadium near the Wolf Lake area in Hammond, Indiana. We appreciate the leadership shown by Governor Braun, Speaker Houston, Senator Michler, and members of the Indiana General Assembly and establishing this critical framework and path forward to the leadership. and path forward to deliver a premier venue for all Chicago land and a destination for Bears, fans, and visitors from across the globe.

We value our partnership and look forward to continuing to build our working relationship together. Warren chose not to be in that meeting. We had eight people in that discussion involving the legislators, involving the governor's office, involving the Bears and their representatives. And so, again, lots of progress, but a surprise this morning to wake up and see that statement. Speakle and Holmes, afternoons on the score. There is a battle to get the bears in the business that will come along with the bears, whether it's in Arlington Heights or a magical stadium pops up in the city,

or they move into the region of Northwest Indiana. The governor of Indiana, Mike Braun, joins us now here on the score. Governor, thanks so much for joining us. What's the importance from your point of view of what happened today? I think it was one that you wouldn't have heard their statement or ours, along with the legislation, enabling it, if it didn't have a lot of kind of planning and discussion before it. I ran a business for 37 years and been involved in real estate, and it takes a lot of planning when you're going to do something like this. And we've been working on it from the time that they got the message that state of the state. Illinois, the legislature, the city of Chicago, and Governor Pritzker were not really interested.

So they got to look at what it would be like in a business-friendly state that has a lot of attributes to bring any business here. And that's kind of been the foundation that was in play that got to a threshold point just over the last day or two. Governor, do you believe that the business-friendly stadium deals that so rarely happen that you are proposing that they still make financial sense for the taxpayers? Well, they do here because there's skin in the game that the bears are putting in that's significant. All that gets calculated in terms of ancillary economic benefits. and we've got something that we did not too long ago with the Colts. And that's worked out wonderfully for the city of Indianapolis.

And, you know, the region is slightly less in population itself than Indy. So it's the second biggest concentration of population in our state. And it's not the first rodeo with it. And that's worked out pretty good across the board. what's the next step here because trying to figure out if you're a bears fan and you're listening to or reading the statement from the bears or you're listening to governor pritzker or listening to you trying to figure out how this is going to evolve is worth noting so from your perspective what would be the logical next step so i think from the statement that you heard today and the fact that we had legislation that coincided I think that was kind of the honest broker, the good faith of both parties, getting to a place where they were comfortable. And it's not like there was plenty of time to flesh something out on the part of the governor,

the city, and the legislature. And I think it's just at the point where down to some due diligence and dotting some eyes and crossing some T's that keeps moving forward without, a lot of time probably involved of getting to where we see some concrete results. This is not a closed deal, but it's everything that you need to do to get it to the point where that might be imminent. Governor, for the layman, when you say due diligence, what do you mean? What are the types of things that have to happen?

Are we talking about geological surveys? Are we talking about economic reports? What things do people need to know about the next steps of this? this. It'd be the final things you do on any large real estate purchase that's going to make sure you've done all that stuff, yes, including soil samples, including things that you couldn't quite get done in a framework to where that could have been done by now, but the essence of the deal's been put together with some details minor in scope compared to where that's where, you're we've come over the last four or five months to today.

And that's about as much as I can divulge. That's not hard to kind of put two and two together, but it's a lot has occurred. And when you heard the statement from them and the enabling legislation coming together at the same time, I think that was the good faith that needed to occur with them and with us. it's an extraordinary amount of good faith frankly isn't it like usually the kind of due diligence that you just talked about has happened by the time you get to this sort of point in a deal it feels kind of a i'm a little incredulous that that due diligence has not happened to this point most of it has these are just a few things enough to where both parties felt comfortable you you've worked in business for a long time as you pointed out

would you be angry if you felt like the state of Indiana was being leveraged by the Bears? I mean, both parties have been in discussions for some time. So this just didn't crop up overnight. And I think both parties are comfortable where we are. And we keep moving forward. So it was enough to make that kind of public statement. I'll just leave it at that. Have you at any point over the past couple of months thought that you,

were being used for leverage? You know, not really because there was a sincerity that I think the big thing I would wonder is how did they get this far when there was so much time to do something otherwise. And I think when they took a look at what it would be like in Indiana property taxes, the cost of doing business, we've done. got John Deere just moved into northwestern Indiana with a super large distribution center for the same reason. And we're getting folks from around the country. Our economic growth in Indiana is twice that of Illinois, three times that of Kentucky, and five times out of Michigan.

It's a good place to raise a family, start a business, or even move a business. Are there reasons that this would be good for you and Indiana to do, to try to make happen, even if you were being used for leverage, and there's no chance that this deal happens? Like, is there a benefit for where you are right now in the process, even if the bears do not go? I wouldn't overthink it. What we've done is been accommodating and making it easy for them to move forward. And nothing ventured, nothing gained. I think the longer they've looked at it, they can see all the benefits logistically and so forth, you're going to be gaining a big new audience from the second most populated part of our state

that probably assuaged any concerns there. But really, I think we've covered it pretty well. And it's at this point, and those were two big deals, and the enabling legislation and the strong statement you've seen from the bears. So the rest of it... Sorry, so how would you feel, let's say in two weeks or three weeks or a month, they end up in Illinois, how would you feel about that?

Well, we've not done anything other than be diligent in the discussion of it. We've been an honest broker. If something would occur, I don't know that we've done anything. other than being there in a place, should it work out, which it now looks like it's got a great chance of doing it. And our economic growth and the way the state is growing vis-a-vis our Midwest peers, that is what I would be concerned with in places where you're not seeing that due to your regulations, taxes, and a lot of things that don't make it conducive to come in and start a business.

we're getting businesses moving to our state. Is this a hard thing to sell for people who are not inside of the region? And the reason that I bring this up, Governor, is in the state of Illinois, there's a schism between what Chicago gets and maybe what the rest of the state gets. I imagine that there are challenges when it comes to trying to explain this to someone who's in Tippy Canoe, for example. Like, well, how do you explain to them that this? is something that benefits them if they have a connection to something else.

If they're Colts fans, for example, how do you go about doing that? It's a very good question. And we break our economic development down into regions, 15 of them. And the main thing I did when I came in as governor is to make sure all 15 regions are seeing benefits compared to what it was before. Most states try to fish in the whales. They break their line generally. We take a different approach.

If it's going to work to where it moves like this has, mostly due to the other party, probably not doing their job. We've got stuff going on now in all 15 regions, which that argument couldn't work. That's a change from when I came in as governor. I ran a small business. I built in my hometown in the southern part. the state. I know the lay of the land. I visit all 92 counties. It's being received well. I did an audit on our own economic development because it looked like it was too much with too few.

That has all changed. Governor Mike Braun is with us from Indiana. We appreciate this, Governor. You're helping us kind of wrap our heads around it, and a lot of Bears fans are confused and frankly scared, scared about us. So this is helpful. What would you say to the Bears fans who are kind of frightened of this prospect in terms of their love for the Bears as a Chicago team, as the pride and joy of Illinois, if you will. What would you say to those Bears fans? I would say it's still the Chicago Bears. It's happened in New York, and going from New York to New Jersey, maybe going from the

frying pan into the fire, but they still did it. Here, I think you're going to see a state that's going to pull. together something along with the bears that they'll like and logistically, I think it's going to gain fans and not lose. Governor, what's your commitment to development in Northwest Indiana if it isn't attached to the bears coming there? So we've just been Gary alone recently got casino, convention center, FedEx Hub, and that's probably between Gary, Hammond, East Chicago, the place where the steel industry getting

offshored, impacted a place in Indiana more severely than any other. We see this, and I spend a lot of time up there, get a lot of support because I'm from the other far into the state, and I campaigned up there for Senator and Governor and get a lot of support. They know me. I think they trust that the region is going to get attention where it hasn't before. And we're a state that's generating enough economic growth by looking at things differently, regulation, taxes. I think this is setting the stage for good things to happen in an ancillary way. This is just another sign of it.

Well, yeah, I think there's a lot of people who live in that region who aren't exactly sure if they're beloved as Indianans and they're not necessarily beloved as Chicago. Chicagoans. So it's a tricky, it's a tricky place to live and exist for those people, isn't it? Well, I mean, it's the, I view it as a hub of kind of entrepreneurial activity up there. It's increasingly turning red in terms of its political complexion. And that's because, again, I think we've been, through our own state government, setting that stage. I come from the world to being an outsider, a business owner.

You don't get many of them that sign the front side of a paycheck and that actually I think understand economic development as it would apply broadly across a state like Indiana or Illinois. And I think you're going to see more and more of that flesh out and talk to the people up in the region, see how much time I spent up there campaigning, especially for Senate. they knew me from there and governor as well. And I think there is a feeling of trust and that things are going to get better and I'm going to do everything I can.

Well, I'm governor to make sure across all 15 of our regions, you see it. When would you like for the, like, how soon would you like for there to be some sort of conclusion? Because yes, if you want the bears, there needs to be talks and discussions inside of the Indiana House, but there also has to be for you, if you are being pro-business, there might be other things that have to be connected to that that you want to get done quickly. So when do you need an answer on this? Good question.

Yeah. So I think this is a good way to kind of wrap it up in the sense that I would hope that's at all, I've done a few of these in the past. So I think that a month or two, from where we've come to where we are, that that would be the time frame where you'll see us hopefully ink the deal. All right, just one more then, Governor. Do you see J.B. Pritzker as an adversary in this? And do you enjoy that?

No, I don't take pleasure in any one else's misery. So I'm going to say that whatever they did not do, they can think about that. We're just going to be happy for the region, the bears, and I think everybody's going to be happy once they are a partner with a state like Indiana. Are you confident that that's going to happen, that this deal is going to get done? I'm confident enough to come on the show with you and tell you everything that I know about it and be happy to sit down again and have a conversation once we get consummated or closer to done. All right, Governor, we appreciate that.

We also hope that you come on if they end up going to Arlington Heights, because I'd love it. love to get your perspective on it if it goes the other way for you. Well, you call me then and we'll have that conversation. Thank you, Governor. We appreciate your time. Okay. Take care. Bye-bye. That is Governor Mike Braun. Spicy. Spicy. Spicy. All around. Hell yeah, Lawrence. Let's get them on no matter where they go.

Yeah. It shouldn't just be a victory lap. Right? 100%. 100%. It's like he doesn't, he doesn't see J.B. Pritzker as an adversary, but he does see the misery that J.B. is dealing with here. My goodness. That was an interesting 20 minutes of our radio lives. I thought that he explained their point of view very well. I thought that he advocated for the state of Indiana very well. Yes, I agree.

Ryan Dempster has stopped over and said alone. Look at that. Now, that's a funny sentence. This is what happens. That's Lawrence Holmes right there. You want a headset? We got headsets here. Demp's say hello for six.

You know what? It gives me an opportunity to talk with Demp a little bit more about Chris Stapleton. We both share love of Chris Stapleton. So I was thinking about it because the last time you were on, you asked me what my favorite Chris Stapleton song was. And I said Death Row. And you were like, wow. So look, I think that I've moved a little bit.

Like, I still love Death Row, but I feel like I think I'm in love with you by Chris Stapleton. Okay. That's my new jam. And the reason is that I'm feeling the Al Green vibes in that song from Chris Stapleton. Well, and think about it for, I mean, he's got that blues background, right? So he rips on that. And it's just like that soul's always been there. And that's a good jam, too.

I think Joy of My Life's one of my favorite. I got my wife a guitar for our anniversary. and on the back, I wrote that out, just the whole lyrics on the back of the guitar. Shout out how awesome of a husband I am. But, yeah, I just, he's so good, and I just, I'm pumped, actually. I just bought tickets to a show in September in Kentucky, the Bourbon and Beyond Festival that him and the Red Clay Strays will be playing on a Saturday night, so me and my wife are going to fly down to go see him.

He's incredible, the best out there. Demp, your rock star weekend starts, what, tomorrow? Yeah, I heard you a text back. sent me a text about coming over there, so we'll figure that out. But, yeah, we kick off tomorrow. Headliners, Mumford and Sons tomorrow night. We got the Goo Goo Goo Dolls. And then we got Off the Mount.

Off the mound. We got a, who's our guest? Jessica Mendoza is going to be there. The very funny, the very talented Adam Ray, who's absolutely killing it in the comedy world right now. Huge Seattle. He's the Seattle celebrity super fan right now. It's been not watching what he's been doing. Good fan to the program.

And he's what it does the Dr. Phil thing, right? Dr. Dr. Phil, he does a ton of different impersonations. and so we're going to have a lot of fun doing that. Maybe he'll sing, and then OK, Go is going to come up who I think. Yeah. By the way, the video work that they have done in their career, I think, you know, the treadmills was wild. Dude.

And their album, their new album, the way it opens up. And when you see this thing, like they are just, you know, kind of futuristic, very George Orwell in the music industry as far as forward thinking. Man, that's so cool. Tim, what are you still doing there this late? Because the Speaks has been by himself for him. about an hour and a half. I just came over here to say hi to the boys, and I saw a speak sitting over here by himself, so I thought I'd come say hi.

So listen, I'm glad that you jumped on the show considering, you know, USA, USA today. You know, I'm glad that you is a proud representative of Canada. I know that. It's true. Hey, man, when you have a chance to take it over time and there's a lot of heartbreak in that room, but both of those teams, all those ladies have nothing but to hold their head high, man, to go to the Olympics and put on that kind of show, congratulations to the U.S. women's hockey team, incredible stuff.

You okay with the curlers cheating? How do you feel about that? Yeah, what's up with that? I echo the same words that the skip said to the guy on the other team. I would have said the same thing. But I grew up in a rougher part of the curling neighborhood. You know, we cursed at each other a lot. I know it's a gentleman's game, and you're not supposed to do that,

but for yelling, hurry, hurry, hard so much and sweep, you might drop the occasional F-bomb every once in a while. Yeah, you used to scuff up the stone. We used to. I remember watching. those videos of those guys smoke heaters while they were bowling it down the lane so let's go um yeah curling is the best that the one i'm really interested in is the two-man luge i think you know four years from now i i feel like i got a shot to do that when i heard the broadcasters say

um now they're going to do what they do best which is lay down relax and give it all they got i can do that guys i can do that too this is my question how do you know you're good at that How do they scout that? Do they go to a hill and watch people sledding on their back and go, that's my guy. I had a little bit of an issue with that because me and my brothers used to do that down school hill when we were a kid. And sometimes if you went too far, you had a chance of going off the pier into the water. I feel like I have a shot in the 2030 Olympics for the two-man luge. All right.

I'm in, but I get to be top. Okay. You guys have a good afternoon. Demp, you're the man. Thanks, ma'am. We appreciate you. Ryan Dempster just walking by over there at Sloan. Just dropping in.

Perfect timing. Like, that's, like, Ryan Diffster just walked in like he's a sitcom character. He helped lighten the mood. Like Kramer. Like Kramer on Side film. He just hopped right in. I thought we were just going to see, like, tumbleweeds going past Scher,

Speeagues, and then there's Ryan Dempster. I know. All of a sudden, you never know. Mount Rushmore of, like, Chicago sports people who you would love to drop in after a segment like that. Yep. He's on a very short list. There's no doubt about it.

This is the balance. This is the balance of the weirdness. of this show. It's like, man, we just got finished with the governor. And here's Ryan Duff. Here's Ryan Dips. They're like, hey, everybody. Making everyone feel better.

Next, Clark the Cove. I'm kidding, kidding. He's here. He wants to go to dinner. Yeah, no, we got to hang out with see the sea. See the C. I hate that you call him, Matt. That's who he is in my phone.

I meant to follow up. We talked about it as a four-pack, but I didn't tell the group. Yeah. Southpaw texted me while we were having the Clark the cub discussion this is amazing for anybody who doesn't know that the conversation was is clark the cub a cub or a person and and and and i asked him and he said that he is a person but clark is a cub so and then you had the opportunity to to ask south paw and what did south paul say you asked south paw if he was a person right yes and and yes and also a furry green guy wait did you text

South Paul or did South Paul text you? South Paul texted me. Like how did South Paul introduce? South Paul and I have been friends for a long time. This is amazing. Glad you've patched it up since the early days. Yeah. Well, I mean, the early days of Southpaw I was very much friends with Southpaw. Yet terrified. Yet terrified. So at this point, it's just a sub.

It's not like, hey, this is Southpaw. Yeah. Yeah. I don't know. I don't know why anybody else would listen to any other radio show in the world. between the two of us, we have access and relationships with both Clark the Cubs and Southpaw. Yeah. I mean, and that's more important than any governor or mayor. I don't think he enjoyed himself.

So here's the thing. I mean, I think he thought it was going to be like just five minutes. But I appreciate the fact that he was at least willing to answer the questions for the most part. Yes. No, I did too. I thought it was, I thought it was helpful and I thought it was interesting and I thought he stuck to his talking points, but we challenged him and he accepted that and I appreciated his willingness to be here to do that. It would be hilarious, though, if they don't get the bears. Well, that was my favorite part when you asked him how he'd feel. You said he'd come back on if that were to happen. Yeah. Just wanted to make sure. So wanted to make sure.

Which might come back on if you don't get the bears. Just a thought. All right. Do we want to hear from the other governor? Or do we want to take phone? You tell me what to do. All right, let's take phone calls. You heard what the governor of Indiana had to say, 312, 644, 67, 67.

What's your reaction to it? That's next here on the score. The Bears are getting closer to a stadium in Hammond, Indiana. Jared Payton joins us now. Your father was a bear legend. What do you think your dad would think of the Bears going to Indiana to play football? He would be for not only did I help build his vote, What is going to be best for the organization?

A pride and joy of Illinois that just literally sticks in my head. To have a change, I know how difficult that is. And the Bears are trying to increase leverage in every place that they can to try and get the best deal that they can. I find myself disgusted at the games that are continuing. Keep listening all day as we follow this developing story that could have a huge effect on Bears fans and the state of Illinois. We are Sports Radio 104 The Score

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Where speaks? He's right there. Right here, baby. But all kinds. conversational roads at Cubs Camp have led to the Bears stadium issues. There was a little while, Lawrence, this morning where I thought maybe this was going to happen. You described it as the Indiana bomb in the group thread, that maybe that was going to get dropped today, which would have changed all of our lives irrevocably.

Do you find yourself thinking, you, my journalistic friend, do you find yourself thinking this is going to happen in Indiana? I have thoughts. I know you do. I find myself in the same place that I was in a couple weeks ago. And I've been trying to tell people that this would probably have a decision or at least a direction by the end of February. Here we are closing in on the end of February and maybe we will have some more answers. There's still a lot of hurdles that have to be jumped over by the bears to make a move to Arlington Heights or to Indiana, to Northwest Indiana. So there's still work that needs to be done.

And as one person said to me, is like, isn't this the fourth vision that Kevin Warren has had when it comes to where the stadium should be? I don't think that you should look at his statement. And I don't think the reaction should be the bears are going to Indiana. I think that as it has been, they are an option for the bears. and the bears are trying to increase leverage in every place that they can to try and get the best deal that they can. I think that is accurate. I find myself disgusted at the games that are continuing. And maybe this is the way you have to do it in modern stadium politics because there are so few entities that will give you a semblance of what you want.

but this feels very akin to the statement that they put out on the Bears website in the middle of one of the most joyful seasons that we have experienced as Bears fans and observers in a long, long time that re-exposes just how craven and dysfunctional they can be. Because I don't think this is realistically somewhere they're going to end up. I don't think it is. I think they're going to stay in Illinois. But either way, this is. is manipulative and it is a game to try and make Illinois bend a little more.

And I'm sure you know, with your multiple sources in this, this is doing nothing but pissing off the Illinois governors and legislators who have enjoyed the very direct and forthright conversation that's been going on over the last few weeks. This is a step backwards today, and it's an ugly step backwards. That's how I feel about it. I feel like there was a lot of progress that had been made by the Bears in the state of Illinois. And again, to just reiterate, I don't care where the Bears play. If private enterprise is supposed to look for the best deal possible,

the Bears are supposed to try and find a sweetheart deal that allows them to continue to create ungodly amounts of revenue. Like, that's what they're here for. I get it. I get it. I understand. And you're right. There are a lot of people who don't necessarily care because they watch them on TV.

that's that. I do care. And I suspect that George McCasky cares. I suspect that he doesn't really want to do this thing that Kevin Warren is allowing them to threaten that he wants to do. I don't know that we should ascribe to George stuff that is not in evidence. I think that he is like a lot of owners in the NFL where they're trying to get free money if they can and why shouldn't they? Like that's the goal. Like you want someone to, you'd love to have a sweetheart deal like the state of Kansas gave the Kansas City Chiefs. My whole thing is, is I have a lot of issues and I've been doing a lot of reporting on this since last night, like talking to people and different sources around the way.

My issue is, I think it's, I find it funny that for the 30 some odd years that you and I have been at this radio station, most people's feelings about how the bears do their business has been they are a franchise that is incompetent. I think that it's really interesting now, depending on in some cases where you fall on the political spectrum, that you now think that they are now geniuses, that they are playing four-dimensional chess out here, when I can tell you from my reporting that there have been a lot of missteps that have gone on, them in the simplest of terms when it comes to getting this thing across the goal line in the state of Illinois. Yeah, man.

See, that's the thing. I think this re-exposes the dysfunction in the family business because Kevin Warren came in here, guns of blazing to do Arlington Heights because they already bought the property before he even got here. And then he fell in love with the lakefront. And then he told us 2025 with the shovels and we're still waiting. And we've got a lot longer to wait. And then the Indiana thing comes up late as clear leverage, you know, and then, and he's never even

said Indiana out loud. It's only been in statement form from Kevin. So it re-exposes the dysfunction and the awkwardness, and I don't think it does them any favors in that way. And to be clear, I also think that Kevin was put in a bad situation when he took over the job, although he knew the situation that he was put in when he took the job. and that situation is buying the parcel of land out in Arlington Heights. That decreases leverage.

So he has since been trying to increase leverage, which, again, is exactly what the bears should be doing as a private entity. And people need to realize that they're a private entity. Remember that people own something that you love. And that means that you don't have control over it. Jenna Fisher and I'm Angela Kinsey and together we have the podcast Office Ladies just because we finish rewatching the office does not mean we're going anywhere every Wednesday we'll be sharing even more exclusive stories from the office and our friendship with brand new guests plus you can

revisit all the Office Ladies rewatch episodes every Monday with new bonus tidbits before every episode so follow and listen to Office Ladies on the free Odyssey app and wherever you get your podcast for this moment. We're part of the Chicago land region. We're only 20 minutes from Soldier Field by car. In the region, we watch Chicago television. We listen to Chicago radio. We root for Chicago teams, especially the Bears. It's the one team we could all agree on in Northwest Indiana. That's hard to do. That's the mayor of Hammond, Thomas McDermott. It's interesting because he's right about the region. The rest of the state doesn't have a lot of useful. the city of Chicago, which also makes you wonder about what it is they care about here.

These are all questions that one should be asking themselves when thinking about this whole discussion. So Spiego and Home Show Speaks is down in Arizona, living the good life. You know, Lawrence, there's nobody here anymore. Like, there's no players. He's living the bad life. No, it's all right, but there's just, I'm cold. There's no one

They're like I'm in the shade Fully cold There are no fans There are no players There's like one greenskeeper With a leaf blower Walking around

There are no security guards anymore Everyone is just is just gone I'm in the dark here I really am I really am But it's still It's been wonderful to be here And I'll let you know

If anything interesting happens in my midst But I think that's unlikely For the rest of the show All right I think that's a good idea We can do that. Let's take some calls for some people. Let's start with Ryan, who is calling us from the region. Hey, Ryan, you're on the score.

Hey, guys. Thank you so much for taking my call. I've been listening to you guys forever, and I appreciate this. I live northwest Indiana, long, a lifetime bear fan. I'm 45 years old. And I appreciate you, Lawrence, just to say this, that you included us in the Chicago land area. That doesn't happen often, right?

However, I don't want the Bears to come here. I do not want them to come here. And the reason is because it's Soldier Field is an iconic place, right? Soldier Field is, it's not just a place where the Bears play. It's something that people come to Chicago and visit. If the Cubs left Wrigley Field, right, I don't care about the billionaires and putting money in their pocket like you were talking about. I think Steve is, he's got, he's got to, he's got to. your car pulled here, right?

I just don't want them to come here because it ruins, it feels like it ruins like a history. And if you come to Northwest Indiana, right? Of course I would go to the games because they're close by, but I just, I just can't get behind it, man. I can't. Like, uh, I don't know. Hey, man.

We appreciate the call. I don't know, by the way, is a great place to be. Well, yeah, but like, it does ruin a history. Now, this happens all the time. History gets ruined all the time these days by greed. As you put it out there, like this is all purely about familial greed. Like maybe once they get their new stadium, they'll sell. And then the whole family can feel all of that very tangible wealth go on.

It will increase, it will increase how much. much the valuation of the bears will go up by a couple billion dollars once they get a new place done yes it will and i want people to keep stuff like that in mind that's what they're trying to do because they're a private business for sure and so there's there's there's there's ugliness and greed that does erase a history the the truth is the family really really screwed up in the 90s with the way that they redid soldier field they just absolutely botched that. And it could have been a remarkable, remarkable opportunity. It was an opportunity that they blew to build something with real lasting power. Like, you got the freedom to actually do the

kind of big project on the lakefront that will never happen again. It will not happen. They had the freedom to do it, and they blew it to the point that at this point they're trying to get out of something that's not even paid for. So maybe this was all eventually going to happen. It's just, it's ugly and sad to watch it happen when it's something so venerable as the Bears. South Bend and Ron. Hey, Ron, you're on the score. Hey, guys, I grew up in Park Forest.

My dad worked in Hammond for 30 years. Like I said, I live in South Bend now. I'm all about it because Illinois can do nothing but trip over itself. You just said it. They screwed up when they've been. put a spaceship on top of history. I said that back in 2003. I was going to study stadium architecture at one time of my life, and I knew that day that this day would be coming 40 years later. I said it back then. They screwed it up, and now it's time for the bears to do

what's best for them. And like you said, it's not for us. It's for them. And we're going to follow them no matter where they go. And the fact is Hammond is closer to Soldier Field than Arlington Heights is. End of story. It's that simple. It's not that simple. But, Yes, thank you for the phone call. Right, but people come to Soldier Field from all over the place. So you're adding that time for anybody that comes from another spot. And a lot of people could get to Arlington Heights maybe easier or differently. I mean, it's all, we can parse all of that.

It's just maybe that's why I'm so sad and at times angry and at times defensive about it. And just kind of like, it's just pissed off and disgusted by the whole thing is because I'm tired of seeing, like, really nice bits of history just erased by greed. It's happening all over the place and it sucks. And I want to allow it. I want to continue to try and explain to the people who are willing to listen and have the conversation. To give you another example of this being about greed and it being about enriching yourself, which is okay for a private entity to do.

Remember, it was government back in. 2001 that had to stop the bears from taking soldier field off of soldier field they wanted to do a naming rights deal that where i think at the time would have given like 350 million dollars and mayor daily had to stop them from doing that remember that part of this they aren't heroes in this story y'all there might not be any heroes in this story but they they definitely aren't heroes in it. Yeah, I mean, I'm struggling to like, to conceive of the people who are calling him that. Like, I know I asked you before, and maybe, am I missing, am I missing something?

Am I missing people that are giving them the business credit? Because I, I'm just, I'm like. There are a lot of people who are, Alex, you can explain it better than I. Well, doesn't it feel like over the last several months, since the Bears have finally got their quote-unquote leverage. It's like, oh, they've been playing four-dimensional chess all along. Bologna. That is nowhere near what

anybody who covers politics in this state has said this entire time. I feel like there's been a little bit of a revisionist history on that. But if they were to leave, are there people that would pat them on the back for that? Yes. That's... And I think that they

should pat themselves on the back. If they get the deal that they want, if they get a Kansas-like deal, if they get a from Indiana that they just can't turn down. Like that George shouldn't allow for the history of the Bears. If what we're talking about is a team that's running on profit, he shouldn't allow the history of the Bears to get in his way from getting the deal that he wants.

But he also doesn't then get to also be the hero of the story. Kevin Warren doesn't then get to be the hero of the story. You made your choice. Your choice was greed. And greed is okay. If you're in the business of business, it's okay. But let's not go patting any of these dudes on the back for it. Well, you get to do both if you do it in a truly artful way.

Like the Wrigley renovation or the Fenway renovation has allowed those ownership groups to make a lot more money. and also be revered for what they did and keeping the history as best they can. Like what happened in Minnesota has allowed that ownership group to be revered for creating an excellent new place. That isn't that far from the old place. So I think it can be done. It can be done, but they are choosing an easier path. If they go there, they're choosing an easier path that is less respectable in some of the abstract. ways and some of the aesthetic ways.

And it's certainly respectable in terms of the greed and the business ways, but that hasn't been enough for me. My entire life is not enough for me. Southwest Side and Gary, Gary, you're on the score. Yeah, Gary here. Hey, man, I remember going

to Soldier's Field when there was a big track all the way around in the 60s. We used to have a Mustang went around on two wheels back in 65. Oh, hell, yeah. The first bear game was the first bear game was the first time the Patriots, Jim Plunkett's second year. Tell me more about the Mustang. So, like, there was going on a track around the football field inside the stadium,

and why was the Mustang on two wheels? What was happening? Because that's what the Ford was making the Mustang, and they made a round around the country to make, you know, market the 65 Mustang. And it went around the track on two wheels. And it's like there's some black and white picture of history or something like that. But, you know, it's, yeah, it's like, you know, that stadium one day will be like Charlton Huston, banging on the beach when he sees the Statue of Liberty, you know, cussing it out.

Because time goes on. Time is going to change. And entrepreneurs, as an entrepreneur, I mean, I would think that, like, you know, Holmes is saying, it's about money, man. People are going to come, whether it's 60, 70, 80,000 people, whether it's in Arlington Heights or Gary or whatever. people are going to come. They're going to pay the price. And I went to training camp this year, and I was talking to George, a great guy,

nice to everybody. And I said, hey, I hope to have my band play at your stadium, your new stadium. And he just looked at me, and he says, well, what kind of music you play? So we got away from football in our conversation. So, you know, these are real people. And like, it's well known that they're not the top of the, you know, the line of people that know how to deal with politics

and stuff, of course, that's why they hired Kevin. and all this type of thing. And like you said, possibly they want to get out if they build a new stadium. That's always been a question. All right, Gary, we appreciate it, man. Thanks for the phone call. I hope that Gary's band gets to play there, and I hope that George gave me urinal cake. I like to imagine George walking around with a pocket full of urinal cakes,

which is my favorite spin doctor's song, by the way. It was Gary, right? Gary was his name. I didn't catch that the first time. I appreciate him not spoiling the movie he was talking about. So, like, there's no spoilers. A spoiler alerts that have to be thrown out there. So Charlton Heston narrows it down a little bit.

But, yeah, I'm looking forward to watching whatever movie he was talking about that. Hey, man, you can take the Statue of Liberty out of his cold dead hands from Charleston. That's when you can do that. And let me just say that Gary is one of the lucky few that got a chance to go to training camp. Because now, if you're a fan that can't afford to go to games, they don't have Bradley Burbank. Renee anymore as a place where fans that don't have the opportunity to spend money at Soldier Field could go and watch the team that they love for free. Hmm.

I wonder why they did that. I wonder why the Bears did that. Hmm. We'll take more of your phone calls. 312, 644, 67, 67 is the number. Just remember all of it is all I'm saying. Speak on Holmes on the score. The Bears are getting closer to a stadium in Hammond,

Indiana. Adam Herb. They have pivoted to Indiana. The pivot has happened. Now, it's not done, but it's close to done. Governor J.B. Pritzker. The Bears actually, they asked us not to move forward with it this morning because they said they wanted to tweak a couple of items in the bill. Do you believe the bears are done with trying to build a stadium in Illinois? Until they sell that land, I'll believe it when I see it. Keep listening all day as we follow this developing story that could have a huge effect on Bears fans and the state of Illinois. We are sports.

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