The Arlington Heights village board is tentatively set for a public review of the Bears’ redevelopment plans for Arlington Park this fall, according to the Daily Herald. Per the paper, that meeting will happen before the team closes on the property.
Now, Arlington Heights is waiting for the Bears to submit a plan for the park, so that they can review the information before that public review.
"We don't expect that it'll be anything really detailed," Arlington Heights mayor Tom Hayes told the Daily Herald. "They're not going to have a final plan for all 326 acres and say, 'Approve it yes or no.' That's not going to happen. It'll be some kind of preliminary approval that will give them enough of a comfort level where they can sign the final agreement.”
Back in January, Bears president and CEO Ted Phillips explained that closing on Arlington Park would likely extend through the end of the year, and possibly into early 2023.
“At that point in time, we’ll decide whether it’s financially feasible to try to develop it further,” Phillips said.
“We’re hopeful that if we close, that we’ll be moving forward with turning it into a wonderful destination site. Again, the timing of it we don’t know, because we haven’t even closed on the land. We don’t close on the land, then all that vision won’t come to fruition. But we’re excited it could be an entertainment destination with multiple facets to it that I think could really help put Arlington Heights on the map as a destination spot.”
