The Bears finalized their purchase of the Arlington Park racetrack earlier this year and they hope to build a new stadium on the site in the coming years.
One step toward making that happen is the demolition of the track and the team is set to start that process. Arlington Heights granted the team permission to start demolishing the interior of the track on Friday and a Bears spokesman said, via Jason Lieser of the Chicago Sun-Times, that the demolition work will begin next week.
The team will need separate permission from Arlington Heights and Cook County for exterior demolition.
The Bears have a lease at Soldier Field through 2033, but they can negotiate an earlier departure if construction moves forward at the Arlington Park site.