Some University of Iowa students are unhappy about a proposed bill in the Iowa legislature to entice the Chicago Bears to come to Iowa.
Senate File 2252, advanced out of committee on Feb. 18., would modify the state’s Major Economic Growth Attraction Program to include the building of a stadium for a professional football team.
The Bears are in search of a new home due to stadium concerns, such as low capacity and age. A team consultant report released in July 2025 said the team was seeking $855 million in public funding for a new stadium.
Since then, Iowa and Indiana have made moves to persuade the Bears to move. Indiana recently amended Indiana Senate Bill 27, which would create the Northwest Indiana Stadium Authority. Indiana would use public money combined with $2 billion from the Bears to build a new stadium.
Many UI students, such as first-year Myelle Culicchia from the Chicago suburbs, are not all that convinced. Culicchia said she knows the Indiana government has announced the move, adding that the proposed move is a bluff to pressure the Illinois government for more funding and that she highly disapproves of it.
“Honestly, I think that if they move to Indiana, that is probably one of the dumbest things they could ever do,” Culicchia said. “They’d have to be pretty stupid to do that.”
RELATED: UI journalism students, professors navigate shifting landscape following Washington Post layoffs
UI second-year student Jeffrey Lang was similarly unfazed by the potential relocation, saying he does not think that the Bears will really leave their home state. He said it is only a scare tactic by the Bears for a new stadium in Illinois, specifically Arlington Heights or downtown Chicago.
“Indiana’s obviously going to try to do whatever they can to get the Bears to come to them because they’ll increase tourism and whatnot, but the Bears are pretty heart set on going to Arlington Heights,” Lang said.
Culicchia was very passionate about the issue because of her history with the Bears. She said that she grew up a Bears fan, like many others from the Chicago suburbs, and was very happy with their 2025-26 season. She also said the extreme loyalty of Bears fans will mean fans will stay, whether it’s a good season or not, making the move even more of a betrayal.
Lang said that although he does not think the Bears will leave Illinois, he could see there being negative effects if they did, such as a loss of revenue.
“If they were to leave, they would get a decrease in fans for a little while, whereas if they just move outside of Chicago, no one’s gonna care,” Lang said.
CJ Mueller, a first-year UI student, is a Philadelphia Eagles fan, but still had strong opinions about the Bears’ potential relocation.
“They’re a little overrated right now because all my friends are Bears fans, so I’m just constantly hearing about them,” he said.
He said he initially heard about Iowa’s plan to draw the Bears over state lines at the beginning of the month, and did not take it seriously. While he does not think it is probable, he said he would like Iowa to have a professional sports team. Instead of an NFL team, he suggested hockey or baseball.
“I know football would bring in a lot of money, but it also costs a lot of money considering that most times it’s the state taxpayers paying for that kind of stuff,” Mueller said.
Mueller said it would make the most sense for the Bears to stay in Chicago, but that he also understands why they would want to leave.
“If it works out to where Illinois doesn’t feel that they could handle the cost while still having the other professional sports teams, then it might be for the better,” he said.