The Indiana Bears stadium tax package signed into law in 2025 would raise roughly $1 billion in public money for a domed stadium in Hammond through four new or increased taxes: a 1% food and beverage tax in Lake and Porter counties, a doubling of Lake County’s hotel tax from 5% to 10%, a 12% admissions tax on stadium tickets, and the capture of state and local taxes generated inside a sports development area around the site. None of it takes effect unless the Chicago Bears actually commit to moving to Hammond.
Why the Taxes Exist
The Bears have signaled they may leave Illinois, and Indiana moved to position Hammond as a landing spot. House Bill 1292, passed in April 2025, created a professional sports development commission to study the move. Senate Bill 27 followed with the financing, authorizing a new Northwest Indiana Stadium Board to oversee construction and operation.
Under the deal, the Bears would put up $2 billion toward construction and the state’s public share is capped at about $1 billion. House Speaker Todd Huston described the public side as “similar to Lucas Oil Stadium,” the Indianapolis venue that received about $620 million in public money against a $720 million construction cost. Lawmakers built in a condition: the Bears must commit before any public dollars flow. If the team picks another site, the tax framework in SB 27 sits unused.
The Four New Taxes
Food and Beverage Tax in Lake and Porter Counties
Lake and Porter counties can each adopt a 1% tax on prepared food and drinks sold by restaurants, bars, and similar businesses. Each county council has until June 30, 2027, to pass the local ordinance. Together the two counties are projected to generate $12 million to $18 million per year, and the revenue flows to the Northwest Indiana Stadium Board.
The two-county reach is deliberate. The stadium’s economic effects would spill beyond Hammond, and a broader base produces steadier collections than a single-city tax would. Anyone eating out in either county pays it.
Doubled Innkeeper’s Tax in Lake County
Lake County’s tax on short-term lodging doubles from 5% to 10%. The county council must adopt the increase by June 30, 2027. Projected annual revenue is around $5.4 million. This one falls only on Lake County hotels, not Porter County.
12% Admissions Tax on Stadium Tickets
Hammond can impose a 12% tax on tickets to events held at the stadium, whether sold at the box office or through authorized agents. Season tickets and personal seat licenses are exempt. Once the venue is hosting events, this tax is projected to bring in around $12 million per year, making it the largest single producer among the new local levies.
The rate is more than double the 5% admissions tax Marion County charges under Indiana Code 6-9-13.1Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 6-9-13-2 – Rate of Tax Allocation and Distribution The higher rate reflects the larger public investment a single venue in Hammond has to justify. Because so much of the financing depends on this stream, the stadium’s viability turns on how many events it hosts beyond Bears home games.
Captured Taxes in the Sports Development Area
SB 27 creates a Northwest Indiana Professional Sports Development Area around the stadium site. Taxes generated inside that zone that would normally go to the state general fund or other local purposes are instead redirected into a dedicated stadium fund. The captured taxes include state sales and use tax, individual income tax, local income tax, and food and beverage tax.
One category is specific to this deal: income taxes on wages earned by athletes playing home games in the stadium are pulled into the capture. For an NFL roster, that is a substantial stream. The captured money can pay for financing, construction, operations, maintenance, and administration of the stadium complex, including parking garages and training facilities.
Who Actually Pays
The food and beverage tax lands on anyone buying prepared meals or drinks in Lake or Porter counties, whether they live there or are passing through. The hotel tax falls on Lake County lodging guests, most of them visitors. The admissions tax falls on ticket buyers at the stadium itself. The sports development area diverts taxes that residents and businesses inside the zone would already have been paying, so the burden there is less about new dollars leaving anyone’s pocket and more about where existing revenue goes.
Together the streams are sized to cover debt service on the bonds issued for the public share of construction, plus ongoing stadium costs.
The Indianapolis Model It’s Built On
The Hammond package copies a structure Indiana has run in Marion County since Lucas Oil Stadium opened in 2008. Marion County charges a 2% food and beverage tax under Indiana Code 6-9-12, collected by retailers and paid monthly to the Capital Improvement Board for stadium and convention center obligations.2Justia. Indiana Code 6-9-12 – Marion County Food and Beverage Tax3Indiana Department of Revenue. Food and Beverage Tax Marion County’s innkeeper’s tax under Indiana Code 6-9-8 sits at a 5% base with authorized add-ons that can bring it to 9%, with the extra percentages earmarked for the Capital Improvement Board.4Justia. Indiana Code 6-9-8 – Marion County Innkeeper’s Tax5Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code Title 36 Local Government 36-7-31-66Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 36-7-31-14.1 – Marion County Allocation of Additional Revenue to Professional Sports Development Area Fund
The Hammond version keeps the same four-part structure. The rates are higher because the public share is bigger, and the geographic reach is different: two counties for the food tax, one for hotels, and one city for the admissions tax.
How Long the Taxes Would Last
Stadium taxes in Indiana are not permanent, but they tend to last decades. The General Assembly extended several Marion County stadium funding mechanisms through December 31, 2040, in SEA 7 of 2019.7Indiana State Board of Accounts. 2019 New Legislation Digest Lucas Oil Stadium still carried $482.5 million in outstanding bond principal as of June 30, 2025, with maturities running through 2037.8Indiana State Board of Accounts. Indiana Stadium and Convention Building Authority Financial Statements
The Hammond taxes would follow the same pattern. The food and beverage and innkeeper’s tax authorizations must be adopted by June 30, 2027, and the taxes would stay in place as long as bond obligations require servicing. Expect a lifecycle measured in decades once the first bonds are issued.
What Happens If the Bears Stay in Illinois
Every piece of the Indiana Bears stadium tax framework is contingent. Lawmakers wrote SB 27 so the Bears must commit to Hammond before public dollars flow. If the team picks another site, the county councils have no reason to adopt the food and beverage or innkeeper’s tax increases, the admissions tax has no venue to attach to, and the sports development area has no stadium to draw revenue around. The authorizations exist on paper; whether Indiana consumers ever pay them depends on a decision made in Chicago.