As the Bears threaten relocation across state lines, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) and Rep. Greg Casar (D-Texas) have introduced a bill that could counter such a move.
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Sanders and Casar jointly announced the Home Team Act in a press conference on March 26. The proposed federal bill, if passed, would require team ownership to provide one year of notice before moving a team to a new location if the team would move across state lines or to a new metropolitan area.
During that year prior to the proposed relocation, the franchise in question would be available for other prospective owners to purchase “at a fair and reasonable price.” A team of appraisers would determined what constitutes as “fair and reasonable,” according to a press release from Rep. Casar’s office.
“The American people are sick and tired of billionaires threatening to move the sports teams they own to different states unless they get hundreds of millions in corporate welfare to build new stadiums,” Sen. Sanders said in a statement.
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“Sports in America should be about more than just making billionaire owners even richer,” Rep. Casar said in a statement. “Far too many Americans know the pain of losing a team, and far too many communities have had to fork over billions in subsidies just to keep an already profitable team home. Our bill is about creating a level playing field so leagues work for fans and taxpayers, not just owners.”
Penalties would be levied on franchise owners found non-compliant with the one-year notice, should the bill pass.
The Home Team Act would only apply to professional sports teams located in the United States, not Canadian teams that play in U.S.-based sports leagues like the Toronto Blue Jays of MLB or Toronto Raptors of the NBA.
How the Home Team Act could affect the Bears’ planned relocation
Chicago’s NFL team has been putting extra pressure on Illinois state lawmakers in recent months, threatening a move across state lines to the southeast. The Indiana state government has helped create more pressure by working to approve the use of state funds to help the Bears build their new stadium and the surrounding infrastructure in Hammond.
An amended bill – Indiana Senate Bill 27 – working its way through the Indiana General Assembly, proposes to create a Northwest Indiana Stadium Authority. The stadium authority would be responsible for issuing bonds to finance the stadium’s construction.
On Feb. 19, Indiana governor Mike Braun posted on social media site X saying that the state of Indiana had “identified a promising (stadium) site near Wolf Lake in Hammond,” a city near the shared state line with Illinois.
