The Chicago Bears have started the second phase of demolition, this time exterior focused, at Arlington International Racecourse on Friday.
The organization bought the Arlington Heights property for $197.3 million back in February with the intent on building a new state-of-the-art stadium and entertainment district. But they’ve been unhappy with the expense of its property tax assessment.
With that, the Bears announced that Arlington Heights was no longer the sole focus of their stadium efforts. Since then, they’ve also met with Naperville city officials about a potential stadium, and the city of Waukegan has expressed interest in building a stadium.
While Arlington Heights is still in play to be the site of the new stadium, the team release did note that the demolition doesn’t mean the property will be developed.
Here’s a glimpse at the demolition under way at Arlington Heights:
Tough moment for racing fans. The demolition is underway. #Bears pic.twitter.com/doKY7pLcL5
— Mark Carman (@thecarm) June 16, 2023
Had to put it to song today watching the Arlington International Racecourse demolition begin. Catchy. #Bears pic.twitter.com/MbmI9iaXEi
— Mark Carman (@thecarm) June 16, 2023
The demolition is underway. The Super Bowl is on the way? pic.twitter.com/Bs8ZCHLTR3
— CHGO Bears (@CHGO_Bears) June 16, 2023
Prediction time:
What year will the Bears call this home? 🤔 pic.twitter.com/S7VTXOxsKR
— CHGO Bears (@CHGO_Bears) June 16, 2023
The second phase of the demolition of Arlington Park by the Bears is underway.
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This time it's the exterior that's getting torn down.
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See our live coverage of the start of the work in Arlington Heights on #WGNNewsNow from @WGNNews here: https://t.co/DqlzyhiBmA pic.twitter.com/CAUH05O4Xe— Larry Hawley (@HawleySports) June 16, 2023
The Bears started interior demolition on the property on May 30, and the entire demolition is expected to be completed by the end of the summer, per the Sun-Times. Demolition of the grandstands is expected to take about two weeks.
