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No More Horsing Around for the Bears

Clarity is coming soon for the Bears' interest on the Arlington Heights race track site with bidding deadline June 15.

One group seeking to obtain Arlington International Racecourse seems confident in its attempt to secure the property and it isn't for a Chicago Bears stadium.

According to a report in the Daily Herald, the group led by former Arlington Park president Roy Arnold hopes to buy the property and keep the track while making a few other additions to the area.

"We think we will be the high bidder, or close to it," Arnold told Christopher Placek of the Daily Herald.

Tuesday is the final day for bids to be accepted.

A Bears stadium at the site of the track remains a possibility, although only one of several.

The proposal from Arnold's group would leave the grandstand and racetrack in place, while relocating the stable and adding other attractions including a hotel, entertainment and business district.

The story quoted Arlington Heights mayor Tom Hayes as saying a Bears stadium at the property is still "...on the table," but did not discuss the option further.

The Bears have had nothing to say about the property publicly. They have a lease at Soldier Field through 2033.

The current stadium is an entirely different structure than the old Soldier Field that was built in three stages between 1922 and 1939. The current stadium is the smallest in the NFL, with a capacity of 61,500 and is constructed within the outer wall of the old stadium. This is part of the reason the capacity is so small.

The lease costs the Bears only $6.3 million annually.

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