Bears Racetrack Tax Battle Reaches Key Point

The Bears dome stadium project could rapidly reach a critical point because of taxes.

With the team reportedly considering a lakefront site besides the Arlington Heights racetrack site they already own, a dispute with the Cook County assessor's office over the racetrack site tax rate hits a deadline at the end of this week, according to a report by WGN.

The Bears have until Saturday to reach an agreement with three school district taxing bodies on the appraisal for the Arlington International Racecourse property before the tax board's Wednesday ruling of $15 million a year takes effect.

The Bears believe the appraisal for taxes should be about a third of the $192 million it was appraised at by the assessor and tax board of review. The tax board made its finaly recommendation on Wednesday, supporting the original appraisal but gave the Bears until Saturday to reach agreement with three school districts on lower figures before a meeting next Wednesday to finalize the figures.

The Chicago Tribune reported Palatane School District 15, Arlington Heights High School District 214 and Palatine High School District 211 have the land valued at $160 million now and not $192 million, so the Bears are about $100 million apart from agreement with the local taxing districts on the property value.

if you would have asked me this question 20 years ago i would have said no to a dome. but now build a dome. fans deserve to walk in a game and sit in warmth. hell if you're going to charge me $300+ just to watch a game i'd rather be warm than cold
— delaun stokes (@delaun1984) February 14, 2024

If the taxing bodies and districts don't reach agreement by Wednesday, the case could still go on to a state property tax appeal board or Cook County Circuit Court, according to the Arlington Heights Daily Herald.

The Bears tore down the racetrack grandstands in an attempt to lower the tax burden after the $192 million appraisal.

During an interview with WGN's Jarrett Payton, Bears president Kevin Warren called the Arlington Heights property "incredible."

“Any time you have 326 acres near the city—and now we've cleaned everything, so it's a vacant piece of land—it's a great piece of property," Warren told Payton. "That said, to be able to have optionality with Chicago, I've made it very clear how I feel about Chicago."

The stadium lakefront property being considered has been widely reported to be the area where the south parking lot for Soldier Field is at now.

Report: No property tax relief for the @ChicagoBears on Arlington Park valuation.https://t.co/mFVrwHtwb3
— WGN Morning News (@WGNMorningNews) February 15, 2024

The Bears do not own that property and such a project would likely include public funding of some type, reportedly from the Illinois Sports Facilities Authority that was used for construction of Guaranteed Rate Field.

The Bears closed on the sale of the Arlington Heights property about a year ago.

"I hope it comes here the next months," Warren told Payton about a stadium site. "It has to be this year, sooner than later, that we're able to say this is where we want to do the best we can to build. There are still some options."

Warren made it clear in the interview with Payton and in other talks with media that the team is interested in a dome project and not a retractable dome or outdoor stadium. Commissioner Roger Goodell even spoke at the Super Bowl about it and talked about the need for a domed stadium so Chicago can host other events like the Super Bowl and Final Four.

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