The Chicago Bears of the National Football League are set to leave Chicago for Hammond, Indiana, roughly 20 miles south of their current home. Former Chicago Cubs star Anthony Rizzo says city officials are in denial that the team is leaving.

Background

The Bears have called Soldier Field home since 1971, and before that, they played their home games at Wrigley Field for 50 seasons. Rizzo told Fox News Digital that Soldier Field is awesome, but it needed renovations. He also said that the city of Chicago and the fan base will miss the team.

The Bears’ board of directors met last week and voted to advance the stadium development project in Hammond, Indiana. The announcement was made the next day. Bears Chairman George H. McCaskey and CEO Kevin Warren said in a statement that the new stadium will transform the region and bring new opportunities to its residents and businesses.

An NFL source told Fox News that there is a chance Illinois might still be able to convince the team to stay in the state, but it would require a significant effort. Even if the team stays in Illinois, it will likely move to Arlington Heights, not remain in Chicago.

Original reporting: Fox News (HLL/CB) — read the source article.