The Bears have stumbled into a perfect situation, and they're listening to both of their primary suitors for a new stadium.
Last week, the Bears and Indiana said progress is being made on building a new stadium there. The announcement caught Illinois by surprise.
Now, Indiana may be surprised.
“We continue to work with Illinois’ leadership and appreciate the progress being made,” Bears CEO Kevin Warren said over the weekend in a statement shared with Crain’s Chicago Business.
The statement applies a little extra pressure to Indiana, as it enters the final week of its annual legislative session. And it leaves the door open for Illinois to avoid losing the Bears across the border.
It's a win either way for the Bears. They want the best possible deal, which usually entails getting the most free money.
The maneuverings are happening in an age when taxpayers would overwhelmingly vote "no" to any ballot measure that subsidizes multibillion-dollar businesses with public funding. But there's usually a way for the people who have been elected by the people to make these deals.
Either Indiana or Illinois will be making a deal. And the Bears are currently working one against the other in the hopes of getting the best possible deal.
Even if the best possible outcome seems impossible at this point — the Bears staying in downtown Chicago.