Will Da Bears leave Chicago? It’s an option the team is considering, especially with news that the franchise tendered a bid to purchase Arlington International Racecourse in suburban Chicago.
At the center of this turn of events is the strained relationship between the team and its landlord, the Chicago Park District, which owns Soldier Field. And at the center of the latest in a growing list of grievances in the relationship is sports betting, according to WBEZ.
However, a spokesman for the team denied sports betting and its potential revenues had anything to do with talk of relocating.
But in a memo dated June 3, 2021, Ted Phillips, the team CEO, and president, wrote to Chicago Park District Superintendent Michael Kelly detailing efforts to begin discussions about opening a sportsbook in the vicinity of the stadium.
When originally proposed in 2020, the team also sought to build a sports betting lounge within Soldier Field for Bears game days, a venue that looks and feels like a sportsbook but without the ability to place a bet. The team could pick up revenue through advertising.
Phillips offered the district 20 percent of the advertising revenue. The response from Kelly amounted to thanks but no thanks. Phillips responded in June.
“It is disappointing that it is over a year since we reached out to you and you have refused to engage in good faith discussions about an opportunity that generates revenue for the CPD while leveraging the Chicago Bears brand,” Phillips wrote.
By mid-June, the team indicated its plans to bid on the track in Arlington Heights. While acquisition of the racecourse would permit sports betting on site, the location included 326 acres where the team could build a new, larger stadium with room for entertainment facilities.
A new stadium would be bigger, and if built with a roof, would allow the venue to host the Super Bowl as well as enjoy the revenue sports betting would provide.
“Sports betting is going to be a fixture and an important revenue stream for sports teams and sports leagues going forward,” said Marc Ganis, a sports economist with Sportscorp Ltd.
Yet, waiting for the landlord to say yes may not be worth it in the long run.
“This is an example of the limitations that are on the team and why they would want to build their own facility,” Ganis said.
The Bears declined comment on subsequent communications, said spokesman Scott Hagel.
“This is clearly a negotiating tactic that the Bears have used before,” Mayor Lori Lightfoot said when the bid was first announced. “As a season ticketholder and longtime Bears fan, I am committed to keeping the ‘Chicago’ name in our football team.
