Churchill Downs Incorporated (CDI) has announced that it has closed the sale of a property in Arlington Heights, Illinois, to the Chicago Bears.
Per the initial deal agreed between the two parties in September 2021, CDI’s sale of the 326-acre property – currently home to the Arlington International Racecourse – to the NFL team has been completed for $197.2m.
CDI confirmed that the sale’s proceeds will be used for “the purchase of, and improvements to, real property previously acquired in connection with the Peninsula Pacific Gaming acquisition that closed in 2022.”
Following the completion of the deal, the Bears issued a statement noting that this purchase does not mean that a new stadium will be built for the team.
“Finalizing the purchase does not guarantee the land will be developed, but it is an important next step in our ongoing evaluation of the opportunity,” the NFL franchise said.
“There is still a tremendous amount of due diligence work to be done to determine if constructing an enclosed state-of-the-art stadium and multi-purpose entertainment district is feasible.”
Should the Bears build an NFL stadium at the Arlington Heights location, it will be the second time that the spot of a former CDI racecourse has been replaced by an NFL venue in recent years.
SoFi Stadium – the home of the NFL’s Los Angeles Chargers and Los Angeles Rams – in Inglewood, California, was once the site of the Hollywood Park Racecourse, which was owned by CDI from 1999 to 2005.
Back in December, CDI agreed to a deal for the acquisition of Exacta – a tech provider which supports the operations of historical horse racing and horse racing machines and has experience integrating HRMs into HHR platforms – for a cash price of $250m.
CDI will also be releasing its fourth quarter and full-year 2022 financial results after the market closes on Feb. 22.
