Report: Bears get mixed news on Arlington Park property valuation, tax implications for possible relocation
ARLINGTON PARK, Ill. — The Chicago Bears received mixed news about the potential site of a new stadium in Arlington Heights.
According to a Chicago Tribune report, the Cook County Board of Review on Tuesday proposed cutting the property valuation of Arlington Park, the former site of the Arlington International Racecourse now owned by the Bears, from $192 million to $138 million.
However, the board also ruled to keep the property’s tax rate unchanged.
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According to the report, the board ruled that the land, despite being vacant now, should not be classified as vacant for 2023 since its grandstand wasn’t completely demolished until December.
The Bears closed their purchase on the Arlington Park property in February 2023 and began demolition on the racecourse in June.
The board’s decision Tuesday, reports the Tribune, means the property would be assessed at 25% of market value as a commercial property, instead of the 10% of market value as vacant land the Bears are hoping for.
Therefore, the report says, the valuation of the property remains about 45% higher than the $95 million that local school districts negotiated last year for the property with its former owner, Churchill Downs Inc.
That settlement, according to the report, resulted in a tax of $8 million on the property. The new valuation means a tax closer to $12 million, the report says.
The Tribune reports the decision isn’t yet official, but board Commissioner Samantha Steele said she had a preliminary agreement with the other two board commissioners. A final ruling is due by the end of February, the report says.
The debate over the valuation of the Arlington Park property may cause the Bears to look elsewhere to build a new stadium for the franchise to relocate to from Soldier Field.
As the Tribune reported last month, the Bears and three northwest suburban school districts were $100 million apart on their appraisals of the property and have failed to reach a resolution.
Then, last week, the Daily Herald reported the Cook County Board of Review refused to lower the $192 million valuation that was placed on the property by the Cook County Assessor’s Office. That valuation was made in the county assessor’s triennial reassessment of suburban properties in 2022, the Tribune reports.
The Bears paid $197.2 million for the Arlington Park property.
Tuesday’s ruling lowered the valuation, but would not provide the tax relief the Bears are seeking on the property the franchise now owns.
The Tribune reports that neither the Bears or local school district officials commented on Tuesday’s ruling, but the Bears do have the option to appeal to the Illinois Property Tax Board or file a lawsuit in Cook County courts, both procedures that could take a long time.
In the meantime — whether the property valuation hang-up has prompted more searching or whether they planned to look elsewhere, anyway — the Bears seem to now be exploring other options aside from Arlington Park.
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In an interview with WGN’s Jarrett Payton during Super Bowl week in Las Vegas earlier this month, Bears President and CEO Kevin Warren said the team has shifted its stance from Arlington Park being the sole focus for a new stadium to looking at a few options. That includes keeping the team in the City of Chicago, downtown or along the lakefront, rather than moving it out to the suburbs.
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell has also said he’s in favor of a new stadium for the Bears wherever it’s built, but he believes a domed stadium would be beneficial so that Chicagoland could host a future Super Bowl and other major sporting events in a new Bears stadium.
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