Updated

Updated · Fox News · Jun 11

Brian Urlacher Blames Illinois Democrats for Bears' Indiana Move, Citing $2.5 Billion Migrant Spending

Updated

Updated · Fox News · Jun 11

Brian Urlacher Blames Illinois Democrats for Bears' Indiana Move, Citing $2.5 Billion Migrant Spending

Q: With the Bears leaving, which NFL city is next to face a billion-dollar showdown over a new stadium?

Kansas City appears to be the next NFL city headed for a major stadium funding fight. The closest parallel to the Bears’ situation is the Kansas City Chiefs’ push for a new domed stadium across the state line in Kansas. After Jackson County, Missouri, voters rejected a tax measure tied to Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas moved aggressively to attract the team with a package built around public bonds and other incentives. Reporting in the material provided puts the overall project around $3 billion to $3.3 billion, with public support potentially reaching roughly $1.8 billion to $2 billion. That makes Kansas City the clearest example of the next “billion-dollar showdown”: a franchise weighing a cross-border move, competing state and local interests, and a fierce debate over how much public money should support a privately controlled NFL venue. Other NFL stadium projects mentioned in the material are further along and not really in the same unresolved phase. The Bills’ new stadium is already open, the Titans’ new building is under construction, and the Jaguars’ renovation plan has already been approved. So, based on the available reporting, the next city to watch after Chicago is Kansas City, where the Chiefs’ stadium future has become the league’s next major public-financing battle.

3 articles · Updated · Fox News · Jun 11

Brian Urlacher said Illinois Democrats failed to do enough to keep the Bears in-state, arguing lawmakers let a move to Hammond, Indiana become viable after stadium legislation stalled.
Illinois lawmakers this year did not pass the property-tax certainty and infrastructure support the team wanted for a new stadium, while Urlacher pointed to $2.5 billion to $3.2 billion in migrant-related spending from 2022 through 2025.
Urlacher said leaving Soldier Field still makes business sense because the Bears do not control the venue and could make more money in a stadium they own or better govern.
He said Bears fans would follow the team anywhere, including Arlington Heights or Hammond, even as he criticized Gov. JB Pritzker and other state and city leaders for not finding a way to keep the franchise in Illinois.
Beyond the stadium fight, Urlacher tied his criticism to broader culture-war issues, backing Trump, opposing transgender athletes in girls' sports and accusing Democrats of prioritizing those agendas over the Bears.