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The Chicago Bears caused jaws to drop around the league when they announced they had placed a bid on Arlington Heights International Racecourse, a 326-acre racetrack property.
“We recently submitted a bid to purchase the Arlington International Racecourse property,” the Bears announced on June 17 in a statement. “It’s our obligation to explore every possible option to ensure we’re doing what’s best for our organization and its future. If selected, this step allows us to further evaluate the property and its potential.”
Things have only gotten more interesting since.
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Round 1: What the Mayors Said
According to Arlington Heights Mayor Tom Hayes, this is a legitimate bid by the Bears in the hopes of landing a new and improved stadium for the future.
“I didn’t know until Ted Phillips called me this afternoon,” Hayes said, per The Daily Herald. “We had hoped it would be a possibility. It’s a very exciting opportunity and I’m glad to see it came to fruition, but there’s a long way to go in terms of evaluating proposals. … Mr. Phillips indicated he would look forward to working with us if they were the successful bidder to make this a reality. It’s just a long way to go in terms of getting to that first step. I indicated we’d be a big part of the process going forward.”
The mayor of Chicago, Lori Lightfoot, was quick to remind the team of its commitment to the city, while also throwing more than a little shade at her favorite football team:
Many organizations are doubling down on their commitment to Chicago, and we expect the Chicago Bears to follow suit. the Bears are locked into a lease at Soldier Field until 2033. In addition, this announcement from the Bears comes in the midst of negotiations for improvements at Soldier Field. This is clearly a negotiating tactic that the Bears have used before. As a season ticket holder and longtime Bears fan, I am committed to keeping the ‘Chicago’ name in our football team. And like most Bears fans, we want the organization to focus on putting a winning team on the field, beating the Packers finally and being relevant part October. Everything else is noise.
Whew. But the Bears weren’t done after the initial bid.
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Round 2: Bears Gauging Fan Interest in Arlington Move
A June 19 report by the Daily Herald revealed that an “automated phone survey to gauge attitudes toward the Chicago Bears’ possibly moving to Arlington Park” was “circulating in the suburbs, although several community leaders don’t know where it came from.”
Alrighty then.
The next and latest move by the Bears is the real doozy, however: The team announced its first-ever multi-year partnership with a sports book and gambling entity. Chicago just got involved with BetRivers and Rivers Casino, whose majority owner is Churchill Downs — who also owns the land on which Arlington Heights is built. It doesn’t take much to connect those dots.
Round 3: NFL Commish Weighs In
Commissioner Roger Goodell spoke on Chicago’s 670 The Score when he was taking part in the What About Chicago Radiothon, and he added more fuel to the fire while also tempering fan expectations.
“I don’t know the answer to that question other than to know this is a really early stage to develop potentially an alternative,” Goodell said, via 670 The Score.
“But I think a lot has to be done here,” Goodell added. “I know their commitment to the Chicago area is 110%, and that’s the most important thing to me. We have a long lease at Soldier Field. It’s a great place. But we’re all looking to the long term and trying to look at alternatives, and that’s what the Bears are doing. But I think for fans right now, I wouldn’t be focused on that. There’s a lot that has to go into this. Right now, let’s enjoy the ’21 season. A lot of excitement for the Bears.”
The Bears could always choose to buy out the remainder of their lease at Soldier Field, where the Bears have been playing their home games since 1971.
Arlington Park was also recently approved for the addition of a football stadium, per the Chicago Tribune. While this could, as Lightfoot suggested, be a negotiation tactic with the city of Chicago, it seems like the Bears are taking this a bit far if that’s the case. More likely? The McCaskey family, who owns the team, sees an opportunity to make more money while providing fans with a new and improved stadium. Get your popcorn ready, because this drama is very likely far from over.
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