CHICAGO | Da Bears | Now these shitheads wanna drive their clown car over to Indiana?

[ardecila]

Originally Posted by FoldingBoxes

This would essentially make it the same as Met Life Stadium in New Jersey, although a little further away from the big city.

What do you mean? MetLife has a rail line that drops off right next to the stadium, with direct trains to Secaucus and sometimes Penn Station in Manhattan. That's like a best-case scenario for a suburban stadium IMO.

[twister244]

Originally Posted by VKChaz

With the World Cup, cities saw that transit was pretty darn important even if it wasn't always a priority. You never know what might end up taking place at this stadium besides a few football games. The reality is that wherever this thing ends up, it benefits the region and its residents to try to make it an accessible venue and an overall success. Transit really needs to be baked into the decision-making

And Chicago has plenty of existing transit for existing sports venues across the city (Soldier Field, Wrigley, Sox, UC, etc, etc....) - Chicago not hosting the World Cup wasn't because of transit - It was for other reasons.

Any new rail lines of ANY kind should be prioritized to get people from A to B where it's needed. A shuttle line spur off of the Southshore line for an NFL stadium is a horrible use of our transit dollars.

Beef up the existing Hammond stop and offer a bus shuttle.......

[ardecila]

I think it's worth kicking the tires on the idea.

It's not a zero-sum game necessarily. NICTD has a track record of getting stuff done much more cheaply than any of the IL agencies (they don't gold plate everything). If the cost is reasonable, then the Bears organization may be able to fund it themselves, likely out of the huge subsidy that Indiana is offering.

I certainly don't expect NITA or CTA/Metra to undertake any capital projects that are specifically for the Bears stadium in a different state, but their coordination is needed to make sure that NICTD can offer a decent and competitive service.

[Chicago Shawn]

Even if not 'gold plating' everything, I was pretty impressed with the Monon Corridor stations, these were more substantial than the typical Metra platform. The soon to come Downtown Hammond station is only going to cost $10 million, and the design isn't all that spartan either. So once the money comes through, NICTD has a good track record of making things happen at reasonable cost.

Right now is the best time to plan for the stadium spur, because the Indiana State House has made it very clear that stealing the Bears from Illinois is a priority and this is a golden opportunity for NICTD to get the funds appropriated as soon as possible from a state government that otherwise is generally unsupportive of transit. If rail expansion happens with the move, I would regard that as at least one positive outcome.

[twister244]

Originally Posted by Chicago Shawn

Even if not 'gold plating' everything, I was pretty impressed with the Monon Corridor stations, these were more substantial than the typical Metra platform. The soon to come Downtown Hammond station is only going to cost $10 million, and the design isn't all that spartan either. So once the money comes through, NICTD has a good track record of making things happen at reasonable cost.

Right now is the best time to plan for the stadium spur, because the Indiana State House has made it very clear that stealing the Bears from Illinois is a priority and this is a golden opportunity for NICTD to get the funds appropriated as soon as possible from a state government that otherwise is generally unsupportive of transit. If rail expansion happens with the move, I would regard that as at least one positive outcome.

Well, if Indiana wants to fund that spur - Then I have absolutely zero issue with that......

[Randomguy34]

It's kinda funny that the Indiana legislature hates rail infrastructure, except for the South Shore Line since they see it as an opportunity to siphon economic development from Chicago and Illinois. NICTD could propose Chicago-Indianapolis high speed rail, pitch it as "shifting the economic center of the Midwest to Indianapolis", and the legislature would happily pay billions of dollars for it.

[BuildThemTaller]

Originally Posted by Randomguy34

It's kinda funny that the Indiana legislature hates rail infrastructure, except for the South Shore Line since they see it as an opportunity to siphon economic development from Chicago and Illinois. NICTD could propose Chicago-Indianapolis high speed rail, pitch it as "shifting the economic center of the Midwest to Indianapolis", and the legislature would happily pay billions of dollars for it.

The Indiana State Legislature also hates the South Shore. It is woefully behind the times in terms of rolling stock, expansion, and station infrastructure. Extending the South Shore just a few miles for the West Lake Corridor took a concerted effort for at least a decade, even when matching federal funding was available.

The city of Valparaiso has been running a dedicated bus service to the Loop next to a hoped-for expansion line to demonstrate to the state the type of demand that exists. The rail lines are there and ready to be used. There has even been transit-oriented development near the proposed train station. No matter, the state continues to prioritize expanding highways, building the largest prison in the country, or throwing money away at large corporations in hopes that they will relocate across the Illinois state line.

[ardecila]

Originally Posted by BuildThemTaller

The Indiana State Legislature also hates the South Shore. It is woefully behind the times in terms of rolling stock, expansion, and station infrastructure. Extending the South Shore just a few miles for the West Lake Corridor took a concerted effort for at least a decade, even when matching federal funding was available.

I also disagree that South Shore is "behind the times". They run an electrified rail service with fairly frequent trains and (mostly) high level platforms. Not much different from Metro North, LIRR etc but NICTD can actually do projects for a reasonable cost while those East Coast railroads spend a billion dollars just fixing a mile of track.

The city of Valparaiso has been running a dedicated bus service to the Loop next to a hoped-for expansion line to demonstrate to the state the type of demand that exists. The rail lines are there and ready to be used. There has even been transit-oriented development near the proposed train station. No matter, the state continues to prioritize expanding highways, building the largest prison in the country, or throwing money away at large corporations in hopes that they will relocate across the Illinois state line.

The line to Valpo was put on the back burner because NICTD would have to run trains on a freight line owned by a private railroad (there's 3 different lines to choose from, but all are privately owned). And unlike Amtrak, freight railroads have no legal obligation to make way for commuter trains so the private railroads can hold the access rights for billions of dollars in ransom or just say NO.

I'm not sure how more state support from Indianapolis would help that. Even in Illinois we can't get rail to Quad Cities because another freight railroad has effectively blocked it for *16 years*.

Anyway, to circle back to Bears discussion, the same NICTD master plan with the spur to Wolf Lake for the Bears stadium also still includes a line to Valpo.

[BuildThemTaller]

Originally Posted by ardecila

I also disagree that South Shore is "behind the times". They run an electrified rail service with fairly frequent trains and (mostly) high level platforms. Not much different from Metro North, LIRR etc but NICTD can actually do projects for a reasonable cost while those East Coast railroads spend a billion dollars just fixing a mile of track.



The line to Valpo was put on the back burner because NICTD would have to run trains on a freight line owned by a private railroad (there's 3 different lines to choose from, but all are privately owned). And unlike Amtrak, freight railroads have no legal obligation to make way for commuter trains so the private railroads can hold the access rights for billions of dollars in ransom or just say NO.

I'm not sure how more state support from Indianapolis would help that. Even in Illinois we can't get rail to Quad Cities because another freight railroad has effectively blocked it for *16 years*.

Anyway, to circle back to Bears discussion, the same NICTD master plan with the spur to Wolf Lake for the Bears stadium also still includes a line to Valpo.

The rolling stock and station conditions for most of the South Shore are woefully behind the Metro North and LIRR. It is uncomfortable to sit on the South Shore cars for an hour or longer. None of those lines compares with decent European train lines. The state tore up a bunch of rail lines in the mid-20th Century and has been hostile to restoring service ever since.

[sentinel]

Scuttlebutt or Twitter says that an announcement is coming tomorrow to officially introduce a new Indiana Bears stadium design, and that they're even incorporating 'Indiana' into the name. Take with a HUUUUUUUUUUGE grain of salt, but I will be thoroughly amused if this is true..and also because no organization will lose as many die-hard adherents as they will over the next 5 years.

[Busy Bee]

Nothing lasts forever. Forget em. Let's start fresh with League expansion.

[Ogdenman36]

Originally Posted by sentinel

Scuttlebutt or Twitter says that an announcement is coming tomorrow to officially introduce a new Indiana Bears stadium design, and that they're even incorporating 'Indiana' into the name. Take with a HUUUUUUUUUUGE grain of salt, but I will be thoroughly amused if this is true..and also because no organization will lose as many die-hard adherents as they will over the next 5 years.

Ben Devin is who tweeted it. He is a complete internet troll. Everyone in Chicago media outside of him says tomorrow will be talks about ongoing soil tests, locations, etc...nothing about a new stadium and not something as dumb as Ben put out about taking out Chicago Bears and name changing Indiana Bears.

[BuildThemTaller]

The Chicagoland & Northwest Indiana Bears!

[Steely Dan]

For the hottest deals in town, visit your local Chicagoland & Northwest Indiana Chevy dealer Bears Team today!

[sentinel]

Originally Posted by Ogdenman36

Ben Devin is who tweeted it. He is a complete internet troll. Everyone in Chicago media outside of him says tomorrow will be talks about ongoing soil tests, locations, etc...nothing about a new stadium and not something as dumb as Ben put out about taking out Chicago Bears and name changing Indiana Bears.

Like I said, a HUUUUUUUUUUUUGE grain of salt…

[left of center]

Do we have an idea of when this clown show announcement is going to be?

[ChicagoLVR]

Originally Posted by left of center

Do we have an idea of when this clown show announcement is going to be?

Lol

It's like knowing someone that everytime they have some turmoil, they threaten to unalive themselves. The first time you're like "please don't do that" but by the tenth time you just ignore it.

If Bears want to move there to unalive themselves, at this point let them. On a more idealistic note, I don't mind an interstate agency akin to Port Authority to coordinate growth in South Side Chicago and NW IN. IN is actively expanding a port right now if I'm not mistaken.

The Bears will be in NW IN for 25 years so Gary Airport might as well be reactivated as a commercial airport, renamed and expanded -- this all still benefits Chicago just like expanding Newark Airport and Port facilities benefits NYC. Hell, if there could be coordination on owning the Skyway that could be something to explore. Just a thought.