Rahimi, Harris & Grote Show - Home Team Act could prevent teams like Bears from moving

Episode Date: March 27, 2026

Leila Rahimi and Marshall Harris discussed lawmakers introducing a bill that would allow fans to prevent their local sports teams from moving locations.

Rahimi Harrison Grody. We are the best show in this town to have the coach and or quarterback sit right here. Because we're here for a good time. We are here for a good time. We're fun. We're funny. We're serious sometimes. Sometimes we cry.

Sometimes we laugh. Like, this is perfect. If you wanted a high chance of a drink spilled all over the studio, we are definitely repeated. Middays 10 to 2. Maybe we're the show for you. On 1043, the score. This is Rahimi Harrison Brody. 4-3 the score.

I just need you to know. Somebody's always creeping and crawling and balling in the mix. Just in case. Just in case you needed to know. That's a reference right there. To the song that's played. I got you. I did not expect that individual or individuals

to be Bernie Sanders and Greg Kasar, the rep from Texas, specifically Austin, regarding the Bears Stadium. What's happening here? Why are Bernie Sanders a senator from Vermont and Greg Casar, a Democratic representative out of Austin, a place

that has a college that is important in the University of Texas that isn't going anywhere. Putting together a bill that they casually called the Keep the Bears in Chicago bill. That's pretty much the colloquialism they used. Also, I'm pretty sure the

federal government has other priorities to look into right now. Layla's the old We can walk, talk, and chew gum at the same time. No, they can't. They can't do any of those things at the same time. I'm just telling what they would say. Fill your tank with gas and go to an airport and tell me how those things go. Sanders and Kassar jointly announced the Home Team Act.

That is what they're calling this. In a press conference, the proposed federal bill, if passed, would require team ownership to provide a year of notice before moving a team to a new location, which the bears have done, by the way, if the team would move. across state lines or to a new metropolitan area. So don't listen to us try to make it make sense. Here's what they had to say. Senator Sanders, beloved Brooklyn Dodgers.

The Home Team Act would have saved the Seattle Supersonics. The Home Team Act would have saved the Houston Oilers. The Home Team Act would have kept the A's and the Raiders in Oakland. The Home Team Act would make sure that the spurs stay in my home district in San in San Antonio. And even when teams don't actually move, the threat of moving sets off a race to the bottom. Billionaire owners pit taxpayers against one another and then extorts the government for billions of dollars. We see that right now in Chicago, where Indiana taxpayers are now put in a competition against Illinois taxpayers to subsidize a team worth $8 billion. If you're a fan watching at

home, yes, this is a Keep the Bears in Chicago bill. We see it in Kansas City, where taxpayers are handing billions to a family already worth $25 billion. Imagine what those billions of dollars could do building public parks, youth sports leagues, fields, courts for our kids. Nothing in this bill would stop cities or states from making good deals with teams where it might make sense, but our bill will make sure that cities and states are not negotiating with a gun to their head. It's time for Congress to step up to the plate. Our bill is simple. One year before an owner can ever relocate a team, they must announce it. Then the community has a chance to buy that team at its fair market value, including through the kind

of community ownership model that has kept the Green Bay Packers in NFL's smallest market for over 100 years. If no one wants to buy the team and keep it in the home city, then the owner could move it. But it's a simple idea. Before you move a team away from the fans who have been rooting for it their whole life, you have to give them a chance to buy it and keep it. Billionaire owners will be just fine under our bill, but fans and taxpayers will finally get a fair deal. Okay, here's the thing.

Greg Casar is not in his home district of San Antonio. He's now in Austin. He moved. And if he bought property, then he got to enjoy the rights that were given to him as a property. owner, which is what the bears wanted to do. When they decided they wanted to move, they bought land and they have a right as the owners of that property to see with it what they are allowed within planning and zoning laws to see fit.

And the Frost Bank Center, which is where the Spurs now play, is still very much in San Antonio. That's the address, San Antonio. I understand where they're coming from. I understand why people might be behind this. Right message wrong messenger. To the comment from Joelle Embed's in the post regarding O'Neill Cruz. So normally I would agree with the whole right message wrong messenger thing, except at the end of the day, the day's got to end.

And so I say that because I don't care sometimes if it's the wrong messenger. If it's the right message, I can take that out. like a kid playing operation with the tweezers and not getting the shock, I'll just take what I need to make this happen because I don't think on its face this is a bad idea. I think it's just, A, they have other things to do that they should be doing. Not arguing that. That they need to desperately focus on.

Number two, this is the bear's fault that they didn't want to stay. Now, yes, if you look through the open record requests because Soldier Field is public as you know, then you can see what happened. The messages between the Bears in the Park District are available for discovery because we use them in multiple reports as media outlets. But this is not what these two should be focusing on right now. I will quote the great Andrew Brandt, attorney, professor, there will be lawyers if this were to ever pass,

which I can't even see it to passing. Because property rights supersede the concept of everything that's in this. Exactly. Just because you use the city's name and a moniker doesn't mean it's beholden to the city. Like the practice, which is why it's like, okay, so I spent 10 minutes thinking about it and came to this conclusion. Why are you guys doing this?

They're doing it to try to represent for the people against the billionaires. If only there were other opportunities to do so and other bills that they could be looking into or speaking about. There are many other opportunities for you to rail against the billionaires. I agree that this is a questionable choice. I get it on its face. It smacks of showing off and not really having as much substance as it needs to. Posturing.

Yeah. Posturing. The Bears bought Arlington Heights Fair and Square. I've maintained it's not our mess to clean up. But I do think that every taxpayer should be able to vote on whether or not tax dollars should go to a stadium. but if they do that, then they know how the voters would really go. Like, if you really wanted this to be an actual bill, then you would try to write it in a way where taxpayers would have to vote anytime a state wants to publicly subsidize a stadium.

But then that interferes with state law. But that would give the people a chance to actually have their own say. And we also know how that would go. That would be true democracy as opposed to representative democracy. And then they wouldn't be talking about this anyway because they'd be giving power to the people, which is what we should be doing. We live in a constitutional republic. That is the body.

I don't even know that it's that anymore. I just know that those two in particular, like to Representative Casar, the University of Texas isn't going anywhere. And to Bernie Sanders, who represents Vermont, I don't see any pro teams there as well. The reason I bring up the constitutional republic is eventually the people representing you

have to do their jobs. And if they're not doing their jobs, well, you kind of end up with what we are in 2020. as a country. Which is why I think it's hilarious. Like if you really wanted to do this bill right, then you would just make sure that everybody gets a chance to vote. And then if you force the issue to a ballot, in say Indiana,

like for the Bears or in, say, Kansas, like for the Chiefs, would you get the same outcome? And then there's a discussion to be had. But what do I now? People to let me talking on the radio anyway. Coming up next here on Rahimi Harrison Grotie,

how about the Pee Crow Armstrong press conference? The Cubs are about to announce officially his extension. Pekro Armstrong will join us at 145. We'll go to the north side next on the score.