While the drama over the future home of the Chicago Bears continues to unwind, a new survey finds Illinois residents are divided over whether the football team should build their new stadium in the state or move to a new stadium in neighboring Indiana.
National Public Radio Illinois reports the University of Illinois Springfield Center for State Policy and Research polled 1,000 state residents and found 30.3% said “it’s not important to me at all” if the team remained in Illinois while 28.9% of respondents said that “it’s very important to me.” An additional 20.1% said “it’s important to me” while 20% claimed “it’s a little important to me.”
The closer residents are to Chicago, the greater the emotional attachment to the team. City residents cared the most with a 41.9% net importance rating followed by the Chicago suburbs (28.4%) and then Northern Illinois (7.8%). A more significant level of indifference was expressed by Central Illinois residents (-4.6%) while Southern Illinois residents were mostly uninterested (-29.0%).
As for their thoughts on who should be paying for a new Bears stadium if the team remained in Illinois, more than 69% of respondents wanted the majority of funds to come from the team, 16% preferred a 50/50 split between public funds and the team, and 14% preferred a solution with more public funds.
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