The Chicago Bears signed a deal Wednesday to buy a racetrack property for $ 197.2 million in Arlington Heights, a suburb about 30 miles northwest of Chicago, the Associated Press reported.
The purchase of Arlington International Racecourse likely indicates a future move to the Bears’ suburbs, and a move away from their former home in Soldier Field.
“We are excited to have signed a Purchase and Sale Agreement for the Arlington Park property,” Bears President and CEO Ted Phillips said in a statement. “Much work remains to be completed, including working closely with the Village of Arlington Heights and surrounding communities, before we can close this transaction. ”
Churchill Downs Incorporated previously owned the property on which the Arlington track is located. Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot is looking to steer the NFL team away from a possible move to the suburbs, promising during a press conference “ do what you can to keep [a los Bears]here in the city of Chicago and I do not believe that the door has been closed by any means. “
For more reports from the Associated Press, see below.
But Lightfoot said he needs to hear from the team first, saying Bears officials have refused to meet with his office, the most recent being Tuesday when the team canceled a planned meeting with city officials.
“The bottom line is that they have to sit down at the table,” he said.
Lightfoot, who said the city is prepared to strike a revenue-maximizing deal for both the team and the city, also made clear that if the Bears decide to move, the price tag for the land in Arlington Heights may not. be the only thing the Bears pay for.
“I know they have a contract with us that runs through 2033 and, as I said (President) George McCaskey, I don’t mean to break that contract, and if they want to get out of it early, they will have to pay us for it. “
The statement released by the Bears does not include any mention of how the team plans to finance a stadium or how much a new stadium would cost, but Lightfoot pointed out that the NFL’s two newest stadiums, the home of the Las Vegas Raiders and the one. A brief summary.
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