NFL commissioner meets with Pritzker, state lawmakers, renewing hopes for Arlington Heights stadium

For the first time, Gov. JB Pritzker and Illinois legislative leaders met in person on Thursday with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and a Chicago Bears representative — the latest sign that the team hasn’t given up on a possible option to keep the Bears in Illinois.

The downtown Chicago meeting comes after Bears Chairman George McCaskey and President and CEO Kevin Warren in August reiterated that the team remained focused on building a stadium over the state line in Hammond, Indiana. At that point, the two used the word “minimal” to describe ongoing communications with Illinois lawmakers over the summer.

But on Thursday, billionaire businessman Pat Ryan, who has minority ownership of the franchise, and Goodell met with Pritzker and various Democratic lawmakers, including House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch of Hillside, state Sen. Bill Cunningham and state Rep. Kam Buckner. Cunningham and Buckner, both of Chicago, have been the General Assembly’s primary negotiators on the Bears stadium matter.

In a prepared statement, the governor’s office expressed hope that the in-person meeting with the top NFL executive in attendance means the Bears could potentially stay put in Illinois.

“The Governor’s Office has remained in conversation with the Bears about their plans in Illinois throughout the summer. Today, Governor Pritzker was grateful to meet in Illinois with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, Pat Ryan, Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch, Rep. Kam Buckner, and Sen. Bill Cunningham,” according to the statement. “The Governor and General Assembly leadership were glad to participate in a productive meeting focused on keeping the Bears in Illinois and protecting taxpayers.”

In its own statement, the NFL said it “appreciated the opportunity to meet with Governor Pritzker and legislative leaders today. Timely action is essential as the Bears work to find a long-term stadium solution for the club and their fans.”

Arlington Heights officials confirmed they were aware of the meeting and said they were “encouraged” by the governor's statement following the discussion.

“The village has remained engaged with stakeholders at the state level over the past several months regarding the future home of the Chicago Bears,” Mayor Jim Tinaglia said in a statement. “We welcome continued progress toward keeping the Bears in Illinois and continue to believe that Arlington Heights offers the best opportunity for the Bears to build a state-of-the-art stadium and entertainment district.”

“The village remains committed to working collaboratively with the Bears, the state, the National Football League, and other stakeholders to advance a project that can deliver long-term benefits for Arlington Heights and the state of Illinois,” he said

The meeting comes after the General Assembly was unable to advance legislation last spring that would create property tax incentives for the Bears to move to the site of the former Arlington International Racecourse in Arlington Heights. In the meantime, the Indiana legislature passed legislation earlier this year to incentivize a possible Bears move to the Hoosier state.

So far, Warren has said the team has focused on due diligence for two sites in Indiana that include a topographical, geological and environmental analysis of the land, as well as putting together a “capital stack” to finance the $2 billion the Bears proposed to build a new stadium and a surrounding multi-use development.

The two sites being considered in Hammond are the Lost Marsh Golf Course and the Wolf Lake Terminals. Warren has said due diligence has been completed on the Lost Marsh location and that it is viable for construction, while the process is ongoing at nearby Wolf Lake. But he also said a merger of the two sites is also possible.

Pritzker and Goodell have been in regular communication about the Bears stadium negotiations since at least January, when the governor’s calendar showed he had two scheduled conversations while the commissioner was in Chicago for the Bears-Packers playoff game on Jan. 10.

During his time in Chicago for the game, Goodell joined Warren and McCaskey on a tour of the Arlington Heights site the team owns, and sites in northwest Indiana, including one near Wolf Lake in Hammond.

The first conversation between the governor and Goodell was a scheduled half-hour phone call on Jan. 9, while the second was a half-hour discussion between the two on Jan. 12, according to the governor’s calendar entries. The governor’s office earlier this year declined to comment on how the conversations went or what was said.

The two exchanged messages again in February after the Bears surprised Pritzker and Illinois lawmakers with a public statement praising a rival proposal from the Indiana legislature, and they have continued exchanging texts throughout the year, according to messages the Tribune obtained through public records requests.

“Four days left in session,” Pritzker wrote in a text to Goodell just before 5 a.m. May 28, updating him on the status of talks in Springfield. “Senate is hard at work. Not much to report that the media hasn’t.”

Lawmakers went into overtime but adjourned their spring session June 1 without sending a proposal to the governor’s desk to help keep the team in Illinois.

Pritzker and Goodell communicated throughout the summer, records show, with the commissioner reaching out by text in late June, mid-August and late September to check the governor’s availability to speak by phone.

Ryan, meanwhile, appears to have entered the conversation in August, joining a call between Deputy Gov. Andy Manar, Pritzker’s point man in the negotiations, and Bears Chief Operating Officer Karen Murphy, the team’s lead on the stadium project, according to emails the Tribune obtained through a public records request.

About an hour before their Aug. 20 call, Murphy emailed Manar’s assistant to inform the governor’s office that Ryan would be joining the conversation, records show.

jgorner@chicagotribune.com; dpetrella@chicagotribune.com

The Daily Herald’s Christopher Placek and the Chicago Tribune’s Brad Biggs contributed.