Bears stadium plan hits snag in Porter County as team tests Hammond site

episode

Rahimi & Grote Show 3 speakers 3 chapters transcribed 2 months ago

▲ 0

Transcript

jump: chapters · speakers · find in transcript

Transcript

Transcript generated automatically by AI and may contain errors.

What challenges are the Bears facing in their stadium plans?

Laila Rahimi 0:03

Where would you rather be the next 50 years in a place that runs like Indiana, AAA credit rating, where you get a lot more stadium built for the money you're going to invest? where you've got friendly guidelines to have a business in general and to where you're not gonna be taxed out of existence. So I think that is what they're actually looking at. I think a lot of what they were doing was just giving them the chance to put another offer on the table. And I think the fact that it fell apart with all that time, six years, three years, and then a long session that adjourned, I think that tells the whole story.

Vinny Rotino 0:47

That is Indiana Governor Mike Braun. This is Rahimi Harrison-Grody on 104.3 The Score. undergoing and Hammond for the new site. And they're trying to figure out exactly what the site's going to be. A lot of reporting done by our friends Paris Schutz, Marianne Ahern of NBC5, Brett Bugansky, Fox 32. They are on top of it. But what I did not expect to see, Marshall, given Mike Braun's messaging, which is who I've deferred to the most when it came to Indiana's side of this and their responsibility and then the Hammond mayor of course is part of it I did not expect to see one of the three counties that is expected to be taxed to help foot the bill for this new Bear Stadium in Indiana to push back and that's what we're seeing from an article in the Indianapolis Star which I would argue is the paper of record for the state of Indiana

Vinny Rotino 1:53

Chicago Bears stadium plan hits snag in Porter County as team tests Hammond's site. This is from Marissa Meador. It came out on the 2nd. Now, just for background, Porter County's population is not what Lake's is. Lake is expected to have the biggest tax burden in this. 505,000 people live in Lake County. Porter is 176. But every dollar counts. So she says... If you ask Porter County Commissioner Jim Biggs, he'll tell you that hardly anyone in the northwest Indiana county wants their tax dollars to go to a Chicago Bears stadium in neighboring Lake County. The plan flies in the face of fiscal conservatism, the longtime county official said, and sends money that could be used to improve services for Porter County residents to a billion-dollar sports franchise.

Vinny Rotino 2:44

The quote... Biggs, a Republican, asked, This is notable. The ousting of the council president in the primary also happened in Hammond. He supported the stadium deal. And she says it's looking increasingly unlikely that Porter County will remain a part of that plan. Talking about funding the Hammond Stadium. I did not expect this pushback on the Indiana side from this.

Marshall Harris 3:31

Well, I expected some pushback, but I don't know that I expected it at this level, right? From actual people in government who can maybe do something about it.

Vinny Rotino 3:41

Or of the same party as the governor, Mike Braun. Yeah, that's a big part of this. This is not falling in line. This is dissension, right?

Marshall Harris 3:48

Very much big tent, and then underneath the tent, there seems to be some dissension, which makes sense, because as we've said from day one, Layla, when talking about building a stadium and financing a private stadium with public money, if you put it on an actual ballot and let everybody have a say... What do we know happens?

Vinny Rotino 4:08

It typically loses. And there's no better example right now than Kansas City, where 58% of the voters said no to having the Chiefs stay in Kansas City. And the mayor there is getting blamed. Oh, you lost the Chiefs. You lost the Chiefs. The voters decided as individuals what they wanted to do. That's the whole point. It wasn't on one person as to where the Chiefs were going to go.

Marshall Harris 4:33

It makes me wonder if they put this on the ballot in Indiana, if this would fly with the proposed taxes that they have to help finance this.

Vinny Rotino 4:43

This article is very in-depth. Strongly recommend reading it. Our friend Wayne in Lafayette tipped us off to this. And there's also a discussion from spokesperson Molly Gillaspie, who is part of the Hammond Stadium discussion. She's had great conversations with local elected officials in Lake and Porter counties about the stadium project and what it will mean for the region.