HAMMOND, Ind. (INside Indiana Business) – Members of the Chicago Bears\u2019 leadership team met with Hammond Mayor Tom McDermott and other local and state leaders Friday as the team continues to mull over where to locate its new stadium.<\/p>\n
According to a The Times of Northwest Indiana report<\/a>, the meeting was held in the clubhouse at Lost Marsh Golf Club, located in the Wolf Lake area on the city\u2019s north side, where a proposed stadium would be built.<\/p>\n Bears President and CEO Kevin Warren was seen walking with McDermott from the meeting, which also included team owner George McCaskey.<\/p>\n While he did not provide specific details on what was discussed, McDermott described it as \u201canother great meeting\u201d when speaking with the media.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is the first one on-site that we\u2019ve had with everybody present at the table,\u201d McDermott said. \u201cWe talked about a long list of due diligence items that need to be checked off if this is going to become a reality, and some of the logistical problems that we have. But I think it was a great meeting and I\u2019m excited about this possibility.\u201d<\/p>\n The mayor noted the team did not indicate when it would make a decision on locating the stadium in Hammond or in Arlington Heights, Illinois.<\/p>\n Indiana has already made its pitch official with the passage earlier this year of Senate Enrolled Act 27, signed by Indiana Gov. Mike Braun in late February<\/a>, which creates the Northwest Indiana Stadium Authority and establishes a framework for funding the stadium.<\/p>\n That framework includes the establishment of a professional sports development area, or PSDA, around the proposed stadium site, which allows the stadium board to capture state income and sales taxes as well as some local taxes to pay off the bonds issued to fund the project.<\/p>\n McDermott previously noted that the Bears have estimated the project would create 2,000 jobs in Hammond.<\/p>\n