CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) — The Chicago Bears have taken a big step toward moving to the suburbs.
Bears officials announced Wednesday afternoon that the team has closed on its nearly $200 million purchase of the former Arlington Park property in Arlington Heights.
“Finalizing the purchase does not guarantee the land will be developed, but it is an important next step in our ongoing evaluation of the opportunity,” officials wrote. “There is still a tremendous amount of due diligence work to be done to determine if constructing an enclosed state-of-the-art stadium and multi-purpose entertainment district is feasible.”
If the project proceeds, the Bears said it would be one of the largest mega-projects in Midwest history.
Danny Ecker, the real estate reporter for "Crain's Chicago Business," told WBBM the deal between the Chicago Bears and Churchill Downs was a "big step," but he said it doesn't make a stadium development final.
"The Bears are also saying, 'Let's make sure that we understand — and everyone understands — that this does not mean we are for sure going to be developing anything there,'" Ecker said.
Ecker said the Bears are still involved in other negotiations and trying to determine if it will get any subsidy or other public assistance to make the stadium a reality.
"They're counting on it," he said.
In the statement, Bears officials repeated a public stance against seeking taxpayer funds “locally or otherwise” for the stadium, but they added that the project would require assistance, including securing “property tax certainty.”
Arlington Heights Mayor Tom Hayes called the potential construction of a Bears stadium on the racetrack site a "unique opportunity." He said the work now begins on setting a stadium construction and financing plan that pleases everyone.
"We want to make sure this is a win-win for everybody," Hayes said. "That's always been my goal from Day One, that whatever we do is not only good for the Village of Arlington Heights but everybody involved."
Bears officials said public funds for infrastructure would also provide regional improvements, including "roads for better traffic flow and water drainage for residents throughout the area."
As far as how a potential stadium would look, the Bears unveiled a preliminary proposal for the site in September 2022. Hayes described that plan as "a starting point."
"Don't know exactly what the final plan is going to be, but we're going to make sure that it's a regional destination — not just for the village, but for the northwest suburbs and the whole Chicagoland area," he said.
On the other hand, the City of Chicago has released its renderings of a remodeled and domed Soldier Field as part of its pitch to keep the team in Chicago. Ecker said, though, that the City and the Bears really haven't had conversations for a while.
"[The Bears] had this contract with Churchill Downs saying that they could not entertain or negotiate other potential stadium options as they were going through this process," Ecker said.
Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot said that now that the Bears organization closed on its deal, the City has "an even better opportunity" to make its case to keep the Bears in Chicago.
"We look forward to negotiating and convincing the Bears that the team's best future remains in our beloved city of Chicago," Lightfoot wrote.
Bears officials maintained that no decision has been made concerning the development of the property.
The team said it looks forward to showing how they plan to “transform the … largely dormant Arlington Heights property into one of the most iconic mega-project entertainment and destination points in the world.”
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