Chicago Bears strike property tax deal

Article posted by Coliseum, December 5^th, 2024

Image: Chicago Bears and MANICA

A potential move for the NFL’s Chicago Bears to Arlington Heights has been made easier after an agreement was reached over the property tax valuation on the shuttered Arlington International Racecourse.

The Chicago Sun Times said that team officials have reached a tentative agreement with the village of Arlington Heights and local school district leaders on the tax valuation of the 326-acre plot the team identified early last year as a potential new stadium site.

The team now says it has a memorandum of understanding that opens the runway for them to land in Arlington Heights.

The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago (US). The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference North Division.

The Bears insist their first choice for a new stadium is still Chicago, however.

In a statement, team officials said, “We remain focused on investing over $2 billion to build a publicly owned enclosed stadium on Chicago’s lakefront while re-evaluating the feasibility of a development in Bronzeville.

“That being said, we remain significant landowners in Arlington Heights and establishing a framework for potential future development planning, financing and property tax certainty has been a priority since the land was purchased.

“We continue to have productive conversations with the village and school districts and are aligned on a framework should we choose to explore a potential development.”

Arlington Heights Mayor Tom Hayes said the property tax deal was not yet signed, noting it requires approval from the boards of the village, Township High School District 214, Palatine-Schaumburg High School District 211 and Palatine Township Elementary District 15.

The three suburban school districts are funded by property taxes.

Hayes said, “It’s pretty clear the Bears are still focused on the lakefront, but we’ve always considered Arlington Park and Arlington Heights a strong, if not the best contender, and I’m really optimistic about the progress we’ve made.”

The Bears unveiled conceptual designs in 2022 for a massive mixed-use stadium district at Arlington Park, the home of Illinois’ most famous horse racing track for nearly a century until the last races were run in 2021.

Their suburban proposal for the sprawling plot includes office space, a sportsbook, small residential neighborhoods, retail and park space alongside a $5 billion dome. They would need state help to fund that infrastructure work, a prospect similarly stymied so far in Springfield.

Such a development would take about a decade to complete, the team has said. They’re under lease at Soldier Field through 2033.

The 62,500-capacity Soldier Field is a multipurpose stadium on the Near South Side of Chicago, Illinois, United States. Opened in 1924 and reconstructed in 2003, the stadium has served as the home of the Chicago Bears of the National Football League (NFL) since 1971.

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