Provided by Chicago Bears
The Chicago Bears may or may not move to Arlington Heights, but the team is now a huge landowner in the village.
The Bears said Wednesday that they have acquired the 326-acre former Arlington International Racecourse as a potential site for a new stadium and a “multipurpose entertainment district.” Bears spokesman Scott Hagel confirmed the sale by Churchill Downs was for $197.2 million, a deal that severs the 95-year-old track’s connection to the horse racing business.
In a lengthy statement, the Bears emphasized that buying the site provides no certainty of a new stadium.