BREAKING: Chicago Bears Sign Purchasing Agreement For Arlington Park

According to The Athletic’s initial report from & nbsp, the Chicago Bears have signed a buying agreement for Arlington International Racecourse. The Bears do pay$ 119.2 million under the terms of the contract for the land.

In recent weeks, the Bears had become the most likely suitor for the land as we learned more about how Churchill Downs was conducting the sale. Now, it looks like the ChicagoBears Arlington Heights deal is nearly final.

The Bears released the following statement on Wednesday morning:

The Bears are they relocating to Arlington Heights?

The team informed Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot of the agreement on Tuesday night.

Lightfoot responded with the following statement:

We are not surprised by this action, & ldquo. We have informed the Bears that we are still available to discussions and are steadfast in our commitment to working to keep the group in Chicago. & rdquo,

When it comes to the Bears leaving Chicago, Lightfoot has just changed her mind. When Lightfoot learned that the Bears did make an offer for Arlington Park, he said:

& ldquo, As a season ticket holder and ardent supporter of the Bears, I am dedicated to upholding the Chicago & rsquo name on our football team. And like the majority of Bears followers, we want the group to concentrate on putting a winning staff on the field, suddenly defeating the Packers, and remaining related after October. The rest is just sounds. & rdquo,

Soldier Field is under the Bears’ contract until 2033. They should be able to end that lease, though, by paying an$ 84 million fee, which could go down if they don’t leave before 2026.

Read More>>>  The latest on Lightfoot’s efforts to keep the Bears in Chicago.

It makes sense to assume that the Bears considered this when pursuing the Arlington home.

A triumph for Churchill Downs?

Churchill Downs has recently come under fire for steering the sale away from anyone who would continue Illinois horse racing or implement casino gambling at the property.

It was a difficult search for Churchill Downs as the number of horse tracks in Illinois decreased. On Saturday, Arlington Park held its final horses races.

However, a sale to the Bears could be a win for all parties. Churchill Downs avoids extra competition for Rivers Casino in Des Plaines, and a Bears-Arlington marriage has become increasingly popular among the public in recent months.

Michael McCormick, a horse racing industry expert whose work has appeared in AmericasBestRacing.net,recently toldPlay Illinois:

Only a sale to the Bears, in my opinion, could possibly alter the story from them( Churchill Downs ) as the sole perpetrators of the Illinois horse racing & ldquo. & rdquo,

Churchill Downs owns a majority stake in Rivers Casino. This summer, Rivers Casino became the Bears official casino partner and BetRivers Sportsbook is the Bears sports betting partner.

It turns out that all of this was probably connected.

Will there ever be an Arlington Bears arena?

The Bears might be able to grow by moving to the cities. their commercial objectives and, to be honest, improve their infrastructure.

Soldier Field is an iconic venue, but the Bears pushed for renovations for years. The Chicago Park District, which owns Soldier Field, has not always cooperated.

If the Bears finalize this move, they can build a mega stadium that can host Final Fours, College Football Playoffs and even a SuperBowl in Illinois. None of that is possible at Soldier Field.

Additionally, if the Bears so desired, they could construct an entire amusement area around the facility on their 326 acres of land. Financial sports betting, hello?

It’s still too early to know the specifics of the program, but there are plenty of opportunities.

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And considering how poor the Bears have looked on the field this season, some positive off-the-field headlines certainly don’t hurt right now.