Iowa lawmakers introduce measure hoping to attract Chicago Bears to state

The Chicago Bears playing in Iowa? A bill introduced this week in the Hawkeye State’s Senate is attempting to make that a reality.

The legislation, introduced by Republican state Sens. Dan Dawson, Scott Webster, Mike Bousselot, Dawn Driscoll, Carrie Koelker, Kerry Gruenhagen, and Cherielynn Westrich, calls for modifying Iowa’s major economic growth attraction program to “include incentivizing” the building of a professional sports stadium by an NFL franchise in the state.

The legislation calls for expanding the economic growth program, which provides incentives to businesses that invest at least $1 billion in Iowa and are “primarily engaged in advanced manufacturing, biosciences, or research and development,” to include an NFL franchise. The incentives include sales and use tax refunds, qualifying investment tax credits and withholding tax credits. 

This comes as the Bears, who have played at Soldier Field in downtown Chicago for more than five decades, continue their search for a new venue. While the franchise previously settled on a site in Arlington Heights, Ill. — roughly 25 miles northwest of the Windy City — Bears CEO Kevin Warren said in December that state leadership has not prioritized that project.

“Consequently, in addition to Arlington Park, we need to expand our search and critically evaluate opportunities throughout the wider Chicagoland region, including Northwest Indiana,” Warren wrote in an open letter to the fanbase.

That prompted lawmakers in the Hoosier State to propose that the Bears move to nearby Gary, Ind., which is roughly 30 miles southeast of Chicago along Lake Michigan.

Now, there is another suitor for one of the original NFL franchises. 

“While Illinois and Indiana squabble over this issue, we are ready to get off the sidelines and into the game,” Gruenhagen said in a statement, according to the Des Moines Register. “Bringing an NFL team to Iowa would attract jobs, tourism and fans to our state and give us the opportunity to showcase what Iowa really has to offer. 

“Iowans have dedicated themselves to our college sports teams, and we’re ready to attract a professional team to our great state.”