New Iowa Bill Hopes To Lure Da Bears To The Hawkeye State

Will Chicago's iconic football team move across the river?

That's the case being made in a new bill filed in Iowa. Senate File 2252, which was unveiled on February 10th, would expand one of Iowa's biggest economic development programs to include financial incentives for an NFL team to build a stadium in Iowa.

Currently, there are negotiations to move the Chicago Bears out of the 100-year-old Soldier Field to the old racetrack at Arlington Heights or also, Indiana has proposed a similar bill to Iowa that would allow them to absorb the NFL team.

The bill would expand Iowa's MEGA program, which provides economic development incentives for businesses who invest at least $1 billion in the state and are mainly in the fields of advanced manufacturing, biosciences, or research and development.

The bill would add in incentivizing construction of an NFL stadium with the Iowa Economic Development Authority's approval.

Sen. Kerry Gruenhagen of Walcott, one of the sponsors of the bill, said in a statement:

While Illinois and Indiana squabble over this issue, we are ready to get off the sidelines and into the game. 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.

Sen. Scott Webster of Bettendorf, another sponsor of the bill, said:

After years of Bears fans seeking refuge across the Mississippi River from the incompetence, corruption and punitive tax and regulatory climate in the state of Illinois, it is time for the team to join their fans on the west side of the river. Iowa can offer the Bears everything they need to build a world-class facility, tax certainty and the public infrastructure they need in a state led by common-sense conservatives.

The bill was filed with the Local Government Committee, which Sen. Webster is chair of, so it will likely go through a subcommittee next, though that meeting isn't set yet.