Arlington Heights mayor says Bears' Indiana location would be near hazardous waste
Arlington Heights, Illinois, is in competition with Hammond, Indiana, to become the next home of the Chicago Bears. And Arlington Heights' mayor says there's a major problem with Hammond. Mayor Jim Tinaglia is an architect by training, and he says he knows first-hand that sites like the proposed Hammond location for a new stadium can have massive problems.
The Hammond location is surrounded by slag, treated human waste, hazardous waste sites, an oil tank storage complex, and the Midwest’s largest oil refinery, according to the Chicago Tribune . “I would throw up the red caution flags immediately,” Tinaglia told the Tribune . “I’ve worked on enough sites with gas stations or dry cleaners or some sort of hazardous material to know it contaminates the ground .
I would be very concerned about selecting a site like that. ” Hammond Mayor Thomas McDermott Jr. , however, says the Bears are well aware of the waste products nearby and have studied the safety of a stadium built there.
“I understand people want to take a close look, but the Bears know far more about environmental concerns in that area than any of us, because they’re spending millions of dollars on it,” he said. Proposals for the Bears' next stadium are on the agenda for this week’s league meeting . The Bears say they will choose the location they'll build on soon.