An aerial view of the former Arlington International Racecourse in Arlington Heights Wednesday afternoon, June 14, 2023. The Chicago Bears closed on purchasing the 326-acre site for over $197 million in February 2023.
Brian Ernst/Sun-Times file
After months of wrangling between the Chicago Bears and three northwest suburban school districts over the value of the shuttered Arlington International Racecourse — the potential site of a future stadium for the team — Cook County officials on Wednesday spotted the political football near the middle of the assessment field.
In a split vote, the Cook County Board of Review landed on an assessed value of nearly $124.7 million for the former Arlington Heights track — roughly doubling appraisals previously conducted by the team, but well below the $160 million price tag sought by local taxing bodies.
A Bears spokesman did not have any immediate comment.
Under the $124.7 million valuation, the team figures to receive a property tax bill of around $10-11 million later this summer, according to a Board of Review spokesman. Their next valuation would figure to be considerably lower with a full year of vacancy.
That’s well above the cost team leaders were hoping to pay as they weigh the possibilities of building a dome either in the suburbs or along Chicago’s lakefront.
Commissioners George Cardenas and Larry Rogers Jr. voted for the final valuation, with Commissioner Samantha Steele voting against it. The Bears have 30 days to appeal to the Illinois Property Tax Appeal board over the decision, or they can file suit in Cook County Circuit Court.
A suburban fate seemed all but sealed for the Bears a year ago, when they closed on their $197.2 million Arlington Park purchase from Churchill Downs Inc.
The team quickly got to work demolishing the racetrack grandstand and other structures on the 326-acre plot of land, in an effort to lower its assessed value and, as a result, their property tax bill.
But three local school districts pushed back against the team’s effort to slash their tax hit, arguing it would leave schools shortchanged.
Last year, Churchill Downs settled with the school districts on a reduced property tax bill of $7.8 million based on a valuation of $95 million.
Cook County Assessor Fritz Kaegi reassessed the property last summer at $197 million — roughly the price the Bears paid for it — drawing a swift appeal from the team, which argued the property should be assessed as vacant land.
Leaders at Northwest Suburban High School District 214, Palatine Township Elementary District 15 and Palatine-Schaumburg High School District 211 valued the land at $160 million, while separate appraisals from the Bears have pegged the property at $60 million and $71 million apiece.
The impasse prompted a slew of other towns, from north suburban Waukegan to far south suburban Richton Park, to lure the team their way for a new home.
But an increasingly cozy relationship between Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Bears president Kevin Warren has shifted the team’s focus in recent weeks to the possibility of a domed stadium being built on the parking lot south of Soldier Field, sources have told the Sun-Times.
The team is under lease to play at Soldier Field through 2033, though they could opt out before that with a multimillion-dollar fee to the Chicago Park District.
The Bears will also look to Springfield for help from lawmakers to freeze their assessment, locking in the “property tax certainty” they say is necessary for the Arlington Park project to move forward.
Chicago White Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf is also looking for legislative help to fund a new ballpark in the South Loop — but politicians have shown little appetite to throw public dollars at either stadium project.
A new domed stadium alone in Arlington Heights is estimated to cost at least $2.5 billion, but the Bears have also shared plans for sprawling retail and residential districts as part of a mega-development at the site.