Studies Ongoing Regarding Future Of Arlington Park Site: Village

ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, IL — Last week, the Chicago Bears sent out a survey to season ticket holders regarding a potential new stadium for the team, one that could end up at the former Arlington International Racecourse site. With that, Village officials gave an update on several studies being conducted about the project at the latest Arlington Heights Village Board meeting.

Currently, two studies are taking place with regard to transportation and parking issues, and the other is looking at the economic impact and financial matters with the site.

"For each one of them, there is one that is being done by the Chicago Bears football club and one that is being done by the Village's own consultants," Randy Recklaus, Arlington Heights village manager, said at the July 7 meeting. "When we talked about this, and the contracts were approved back in April, this is pretty much an iterative process. It's not as simple as you get a report and that's how it is."

In February 2023, the Bears closed on a $197.2 million property agreement to buy the 326-acre property that housed the former racetrack.

The prior year, the Village Board reached an agreement with Sam Schwartz LLC to conduct reviews of the traffic and parking studies conducted by the Bears related to their conceptual plans for the redevelopment of Arlington Park with an NFL stadium and mixed-use entertainment district.

According to the Village, the Bears began those studies in 2022, but then paused them in 2023 due to disputes over short and long-term property taxes for the site.

"Essentially what happens is there's a draft that is done. That is then vetted by our consultants, and they say have you considered this," Recklaus said. "Then, they come back, and this goes back and forth. For a project of this size and magnitude, we only have one chance of getting this right."

Recklaus said Village officials believe this process "will go on for some time." He reiterated that the public will have plenty of time to see the information, as well as any plans, and discuss them.

RELATED: Bears To Arlington Heights Talks 'Headed In Right Direction': Mayor

As reported by Chicago Sun-Times last month, three bills in front of the Illinois General Assembly that would've assisted the Bears in their push to build a new stadium in Arlington Heights were never voted on as the legislative session concluded. The team was hoping for "megadevelopment" legislation to pass "that would freeze property tax assessments for massive projects," allowing them the Bears to negotiate payments with local taxing bodies. The Sun-Times reported this would have given the team property tax certainty needed to break ground on the $5 billion development.

Last November, the Bears agreed to pay $3.6 million in property taxes annually at the Arlington Park site. A Memorandum of Understanding was approved in December 2024.

"We have a great working relationship with the team, and I have always believed that the former Arlington Park site is the best location for a new NFL stadium centered development for the entire Chicagoland region," Arlington Heights Mayor Jim Tinaglia said in a statement released to Patch in May. "While much work remains to ensure that the community's and the team’s goals can be met, we all agree that the discussions are headed in the right direction and we are optimistic for the future of this partnership."

In May 2024, the Bears unveiled plans for a publicly-owned, domed stadium on the Museum Campus in Chicago. The entire stadium project, which would be built near the current site of Solider Field, is estimated to cost $4.6 billion, including $3.2 billion for the stadium itself. As that project stalls, focus continues to shift back to Arlington Heights.