Bears seek permit to begin Arlington International Racecourse demolition

The Bears have submitted paperwork with the Village of Arlington Heights to begin the demolition of the Arlington International Racecourse, a team official confirmed late Wednesday.

If the permit is approved, it would signal the official end of what was once the jewel of Chicago’s horse racing community. It would not, however, guarantee that the Bears will build a stadium on their 326-acre property, the team official stressed. The Bears still want property tax certainty and for someone else to pay for infrastructure that surrounds the site, which will include hotels, restaurants and shops. The Bears have said they will not seek taxpayer money to fund the stadium itself.

Demolition won’t be immediately obvious once the permit passes. Workers would gut the interior of the complex in Phase I before, in a later phase, knocking down the exterior structure.

First opened in 1927, the racetrack closed in September 2021; four days later, the Bears, who were among those to bid on the Churchill Downs, Inc., property, announced they’d reached a purchase agreement for $197.2 million.

The Bears closed on the property in February, just weeks after they announced the hiring of president/CEO Kevin Warren. As a member of the Vikings’ front office, Warren shepherded into being U.S. Bank Stadium, long considered one of the best parks in the league by Bears brass.

The Bears have played in Soldier Field since 1971 and have a lease there that runs through 2033. They could pay to break it earlier.

In March, both Warren and chairman George McCaskey downplayed the likelihood of staying on the Lakefront but stressed there was much work left to do in Arlington Heights. McCaskey used football terminology to describe the timeline.

“We haven’t really kicked off the ball yet,” he said.