CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- The Chicago Bears are making even more connections to the northwestern suburbs with a company that owns the Arlington Park racetrack property, a week after expressing interest in buying the property.
Churchill Downs owns the Arlington Park racecourse property, and received a bid from the Chicago Bears last week to buy the land. Now, the Bears have announced a multi-year exclusive partnership with Rivers Casino in Des Plaines and BetRivers.com, the online sportsbook company. Churchill Downs owns more than 60 percent of Rivers Casino.
The agreement is the Bears' first multi-year exclusive deal in the Sportsbook and Casino categories and makes BetRivers the Bears’ Official Sportsbook Partner and Rivers Casino the Bears’ Official Casino Partner.
“We are incredibly excited to announce BetRivers and Rivers Casino as our first multi-year exclusive partner in the Sportsbook and Casino categories," said Bears President & CEO Ted Phillips, in a statement. "We look forward to connecting with our fans in fun and unique ways through these avenues and couldn’t be prouder to be building this relationship with a hometown company.”
As part of the partnership, BetRivers and Rivers Casino will receive a mix of prominent in-stadium signage, and digital, social, and print assets. Additionally, BetRivers will be the Title Partner of the team's customized Free to Play Game on the Chicago Bears Official App brought to you by Verizon. BetRivers.com players will see collaborative promotions for exclusive Chicago Bears prizes and experiences while betting on their favorite team.
Meanwhile, there’s always that lingering talk about the team eventually moving to Arlington Heights, and Mayor Tom Hayes told 670 The Score last week he’s all for it.
"We look to the positive aspects of it in that they’re even considering Arlington Heights is a real feather in our cap," he said. “This is a real prime piece of real estate located not just in Arlington Heights but in the northwest suburbs where a lot of the Bears fan base is. I know there are a lot of people who would be very excited, including myself, to see the Bears in Arlington Heights.”
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There are several aspects of Soldier Field that make is far less appealing than other stadiums in the NFL. It seats 61,500, the fewest of any in the NFL, and it’s difficult to navigate to. Soldier Field is the oldest stadium in the NFL, having opened in 1924, and is outdated in some ways despite renovations about two decades ago. It also doesn’t have a roof, which would likely be needed for Chicago to ever host the Super Bowl.
The Bears lease of Soldier Field runs through 2033.
“I don’t know the specifics of it, but I know where there’s a will, there’s a way,” Hayes said. “So if the Bears and the NFL in particular are really interested in this move, it can happen.”
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