Charles Rex Arbogast/AP file
The Bears might end up at Arlington Park, but the ponies won’t be there next year.
As the corporate owner of the historic suburban oval mulls bids from the Chicago Bears and other potential buyers, the deadline passed Friday afternoon for the track to apply with state regulators for a racing license in 2022 guaranteeing there won’t be horse racing in Arlington Heights next year.
Under state law, tracks have to apply with the Illinois Racing Board by the end of July for specific racing dates the following year. No application was submitted by Arlington International Racecourse, meaning its final race day, Sept. 25, could be its last ever.
Leave the lakefront? Bears fans have mixed emotions on that
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However, [Scott Hagel, the team’s senior vice president for marketing and communications] gave no such denial when asked about the team’s potential longer-range interest in Arlington Park, which recently was put up for sale by its owner, Churchill Downs Inc., best known for staging the Kentucky Derby.
“I wouldn’t be able to tell you,” said Hagel, who gave an interview a day after I first called the team asking them to comment on the Arlington rumor.
When asked directly if the team has begun talks with Churchill Downs, Hagel replied, “our priority is about Soldier Field.”
When told that such a statement left the impression that other possibilities are on the table, Hagel said, “Our focus continues to be on Soldier Field. . . .I can’t say more.”
I don’t think I’m being
too naive when I say that most rumors of the Bears moving out of Soldier Field (and into the empty/for-sale Arlington International Racecourse in Arlington Heights) land a little light. As Luis put it previously, it’s simply difficult to imagine the Bears leaving Solider Field to spend their own money on a state-of-the-art complex in Arlington Heights, especially when their lease in Chicago doesn’t expire until the early 2030s. And, indeed, the only thing more difficult to envision is sourcing public money to build that stadium (especially right now).
However, the mere existence of those Arlington Heights rumors can serve a very useful purpose for the Bears (and the NFL). In fact, I believe that’s exactly what’s happening right now.