Hammond mayor: Bears stadium situation ‘changing every second’

Hammond Mayor Thomas McDermott Jr. said he had 14 cups of coffee before his presentation Friday morning. Whether the energy he brought was because of caffeine or his excitement about the Chicago Bears and other economic development news is hard to say.

“We were on a roll without the Bears, but we are definitely on a roll right now,” he said.

McDermott spoke at the Northwest Indiana Business Roundtable’s economic outlook event at Ivy Tech Community College in Valparaiso.

The Chicago Bears stadium saga has had more drama than a playoff game.

“There’s some days when you talk to me and ask, ‘Mayor, are the Bears coming,’ and I’ll be 100% positive, and there’s some days that I’m not as positive, OK. And that’s because it’s changing every second.”

When the Bears were on Monday Night Football a few weeks ago, there was a Hammond city logo shown on the broadcast.

“We were so exhilarated; we were so happy we were high-fiving,” McDermott said. “And then literally the next day, (NFL Commissioner) Roger Goodell goes and talks to JB Pritzker.”

An audience member from St. Joseph’s College in Rensselaer asked McDermott whether the Bears would bring their training camp to Indiana. The Bears held their summer training camp for decades at the college, beginning in 1944.

“You’re trying to get me in trouble, aren’t you?” McDermott remarked. He said he has to be careful not to violate a nondisclosure agreement, recalling a news conference he attended. “I mentioned Halas Hall, and I saw about 150 cameras going off, and I knew right away I made a mistake,” he said.

A training camp isn’t part of the current deal on the table for the Bears, but if Hammond finally lands the stadium, it might be possible in the future, McDermott said. The Bears already know the strategic importance of moving to Northwest Indiana for property taxes lower than in Illinois, he said.

“I think the most important job right now is closing the deal” for the stadium, McDermott said.

It’s not an easy deal to close.

McDermott showed a map of north Hammond, including Lost Marsh Golf Course, where people initially thought the Bears stadium might be built.

But Bears President and CEO Kevin Warren was interested in a different spot — Wolf Lake Terminal, a 110-acre peninsula.

“When the Bears build in this location, it’s going to be their own little island in Indiana,” McDermott said.

McDermott said he is optimistic, given the amount of time the NFL team is spending investigating sites in Indiana.

“I think the Bears are dead serious, but what if they are playing us? What are you supposed to do?”

In the meantime, the Illinois General Assembly reconvenes Nov. 17 for a two-week veto session, amid growing optimism for a deal that would keep the Bears in Illinois, likely at the former Arlington Park site in Arlington Heights.

Doug Ross is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.