CDI agrees to sell Arlington to Chicago Bears for $197.2 million

Churchill Downs Inc. has reached an agreement to sell the 326-acre Arlington Park property to the Chicago Bears of the NFL, in a transaction that is not expected to close until after the Illinois state legislature meets next year for a full legislative session.

In a release issued early on Wednesday morning, Churchill said that the deal valued the Arlington Heights property at $197.2 million. The release did not give any other details, and CDI did not immediately respond to written questions.

CDI did not apply for dates for the 2022 racing season.

The release did say that Churchill anticipates closing on the sale in “late 2022 or early 2023.” Transactions of this nature typically take three to six months to close, and the extended time frame suggests that Churchill and the Bears anticipate a lengthy review process by state, city, and local officials, along with discussions with legislators over the impact of the sale.

The Chicago Bears are owned by the McClaskey family and play in Soldier Field, the smallest-capacity stadium in the NFL. Soldier Field is owned by the city as part of the “museum campus” on the lakefront, and the Bears’ lease with the stadium runs out in 2033. The city funded a $633 million renovation of Soldier Field that was completed in 2003.

Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot said in a recent interview with the editorial staff of the Chicago Sun-Times that the city is ready to discuss a way to keep the Bears at Soldier Field, which opened in 1924 and has been the Bears' home since 1971.

“I want the Bears to stay in the city of Chicago,” Lighfoot told the Sun-Times one week ago. “And we are willing to work with them to try to address their concerns. But I’ve got to do it in a way that is fiscally prudent and doesn’t preclude other uses in that stadium.”

Late on Tuesday night, Lightfoot’s office confirmed that they had heard the agreement with Churchill had been reached.

“We remain committed to continuing the work to keep the team in Chicago and have advised the Bears we are open to discussion,” the statement said.

Ted Phillips, the team’s president and chief executive officer, released a statement saying that “much work remains to be completed” before the sale can go through.

“We will continue to provide updates on our progress at the appropriate time,” Phillips said.

Churchill announced earlier this year that it had opened a bidding process for Arlington, which is widely considered one of the jewels of live-racing facilities in the United States, if not the world. The Bears were always considered a leading contender for the acquisition, due to the immense size of the property and the recent completions of multibillion-dollar stadium complexes in Dallas and Los Angeles (The relocated Los Angeles Rams newly opened complex sits on the land once occupied by Hollywood Park, which Churchill also sold for development.).

Churchill Downs owns a majority stake in a casino 15 miles from Arlington. The casino is the most lucrative in the state.

Several years ago, Churchill turned down the opportunity to apply for a casino license at Arlington, arguing that the statute allowing for the application contained onerous tax provisions. Several bidders for the Arlington property had said they intended to keep the track in operation and bid for a casino license, which would have put the new casino at Arlington in competition with the casino owned by Churchill.

Churchill acquired Arlington in 2000 in an all-stock merger deal valuing the track and its property at $72 million. Under the terms of the deal, Dick Duchossois, the owner of Arlington, received nearly three million shares in Churchill, making him the largest stakeholder in the company.

In the past five years, the board has authorized private buybacks of shares held by the Duchossois family totaling nearly $500 million. The family still has two million shares of the company.

On a day when market indices were statistically level with yesterday’s closing prices, Churchill’s stock closed on Wednesday at $238.58, down $2.57, or 1.1 percent, compared to its opening price.