The Arlington Park Tax Deal Has a Deadline the Stadium Headlines Skip

The 326 acres of the former Arlington International Racecourse are governed by a property tax settlement with fixed dates and conditions. The Bears announcements change from month to month, but those dates do not. The settlement sets the Bears' bill on the empty land at about $3.6 million a year. That figure is guaranteed only for the 2025 through 2027 tax years. It stays in place longer only if the team takes formal steps toward building a stadium in Arlington Heights. A separate clause would cancel the deal if another state funds a Bears stadium. Indiana passed a law to do exactly that in February, and so far no village, school district or local outlet has said in public what that means for the settlement.

For anyone comparing Arlington Heights with neighboring suburbs this fall, these terms tell you more about the site's near future than any stadium press conference.

How an empty racetrack ended up with a negotiated tax bill

When horse racing still ran at Arlington Park, Churchill Downs paid about $2.8 million a year in property taxes, according to Daily Herald reporting from May 2023. The Bears bought the land in February 2023 for about $197 million. The Cook County Assessor then raised the site's value from $33.5 million to $197 million, and the 2023 bill was reported at $16.2 million.

After that, the figure was negotiated down step by step.

The biggest drop in that table came from demolition, not from a lower valuation. The Daily Herald reported that the paddock, grandstand and other structures came down throughout 2023 "with an eye to getting a lower property tax bill." With no buildings left, the site counts as unimproved land. It is assessed at 10% of market value, compared with the 25% standard for commercial property in Cook County. In January 2026, the Daily Herald still described $3.6 million a year as the amount the Bears pay on the vacant land, which is more than the roughly $3 million Churchill Downs paid while horses were running.

The money goes to the local taxing bodies. Palatine Township Elementary District 15 covers the whole site. Palatine-Schaumburg High School District 211 covers the western third, and Northwest Suburban High School District 214 covers the eastern two-thirds. Our research did not turn up a public breakdown of how the current $3.6 million is split among those districts, the village and other bodies. The Bears' separate appeal of the 2023 bill was still pending before the Illinois Property Tax Appeal Board when the settlement was announced. We found no report of how that appeal ended.

The settlement only lasts if the Bears take formal steps

The village's December 2024 FAQ on the memorandum of understanding explains how the $3.6 million figure holds or changes.

1. Tax years 2025 through 2027. The settlement assessment applies, with no conditions.
2. December 31, 2027. If the Bears have filed a formal application for land use entitlements to build and run an NFL stadium by this date, the settlement continues through 2030 or until construction begins.
3. If no application is filed by then. The assessed value rises each year with the Consumer Price Index, by at least 2% and at most 5%.
4. Tax year 2031 until construction. The settlement continues only if the Bears have applied for construction permits. If they have not, the CPI increase applies.
5. Building permit for vertical construction. The short-term settlement ends when the village issues this permit.

The Daily Herald's account of the deal describes the period as 2024 through 2027, while the village FAQ says 2025 through 2027. Either way, the last year of the guarantee is close.

The memorandum also covers only a stadium project. It says it terminates if the Bears decide not to proceed and notify the other parties. Its terms "do not apply to any proposed redevelopment of the Property that does not include a Stadium." Housing, retail or any other plan without a stadium would start outside this framework.

The clause no one has publicly addressed

The same FAQ answers a question many residents have asked:

"Will the short-term property tax agreement continue even if the Bears build somewhere else? No. The short-term property tax agreement would become null and void if any governor or mayor of another jurisdiction signed legislation that approved funding for a new NFL stadium for the Bears outside of Arlington Heights."

The Daily Herald's 2024 summary uses broader wording. It says the deal becomes void if "any legislation, budget or appropriation of funding is approved for a new Bears stadium outside of Arlington Heights."

On February 26, 2026, Indiana Gov. Mike Braun signed Senate Bill 27, according to the Indiana General Assembly's bill record and the Indiana Capital Chronicle. The law creates the Northwest Indiana Stadium Authority, which is aimed at an NFL stadium in Hammond. Reported funding sources include a 12% stadium admissions tax, a 1% food-and-beverage tax in Lake and Porter counties, and an increase in Lake County's hotel tax from 5% to 10%.

Whether that law triggers the Arlington Heights void clause is a legal question for the parties to the agreement, and none of them has answered it publicly. We found no statement from the village, District 15, District 211, District 214 or the Bears, and no report in the Daily Herald or Journal & Topics, saying whether the settlement was treated as void after February 26. The January 2026 report of the $3.6 million bill came before Indiana's law was signed. For now, the status of the settlement is an open question.

Where things stand as of early October 2026

The village's tax and planning position sits inside a stadium picture that changed several times this year.

• June 1. The Illinois spring session ended without legislation for Arlington Park. The House had passed a megaprojects bill in April that stalled in the Senate, and a separate Senate proposal reached the House at 3:40 a.m. with too little time for a vote.
• June 5. The Bears said they would focus on Indiana. Mayor Jim Tinaglia said the village "accept[s] that direction" and called the 326 acres "a highly viable redevelopment site" that should be developed to its highest and best use.
• July 6. Village trustees voted 8 to 1 to extend the Bears' electronic billboard approval for one year, as Journal & Topics reported.
• August 13 and 26. Bears leadership described summer talks with Illinois lawmakers as "minimal." NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell later said, "We want to make sure that Arlington Heights and Illinois have an opportunity, as well as Indiana, to put their best foot forward."
• September 12. The village renewed its contract with Mac Strategies Group, the firm where former state Sen. Matt Murphy works, at $5,000 a month through August 31, 2027. Either side can cancel with 30 days' notice.
• October 1. Bears minority owner Pat Ryan and Goodell met in Chicago with Gov. JB Pritzker, House Speaker Emanuel "Chris" Welch, Rep. Kam Buckner and Sen. Bill Cunningham. The NFL said "timely action is essential," and Tinaglia said the village was "encouraged."

The meeting produced no agreement and no timeline. According to the Daily Herald's October 1 report, Bears President Kevin Warren has said due diligence is complete at Hammond's Lost Marsh site and is still underway at nearby Wolf Lake.

What actually has to happen before anything changes on the site

For a buyer looking at homes near Euclid Avenue, Wilke Road or Northwest Highway, one fact matters more than the speculation. Nothing gets built on Arlington Park without a public process that has not started yet.

The village put a zoning overlay on the whole property in 2021. Under it, the Village Board must approve a master plan before any development, and the village keeps the power to reject discretionary approvals. A formal review also requires a traffic study. In a March 3, 2026 update on its Arlington Park redevelopment page, the village said the Bears began that study in 2025 and paused it in the fall, and that it has not been submitted. The village has hired TYLin to peer-review any study the Bears file and has said the findings will be made public.

The next dates that matter are on the calendar:

As of early October 2026, the team has filed no formal plan, no traffic study and no entitlement application. Any move toward building in Arlington Heights would start with one of those filings, followed by public hearings, so residents and buyers would see it coming.

For a broader look at the village itself, our Arlington Heights neighborhood guide and commuter guide for homebuyers cover the parts of daily life that do not depend on the Bears.

Quick answers

Who owns Arlington Park now? An affiliate of the Chicago Bears, CBFC LLC, has owned the 326 acres since February 2023. The village does not own the land and cannot fully prohibit private development, but it controls zoning and plan approvals.

Would the village pay for a stadium? No. Under the 2022 Pre-Development Agreement, the Bears agreed not to ask the village to pay for any part of a stadium structure. The team does plan to ask the village to help fund some infrastructure costs.

What would the site become without a stadium? No sale, replacement developer or non-stadium plan has been reported. The memorandum's terms do not apply to a plan without a stadium, so any such proposal would go through the village's master-plan review from scratch.

If you are thinking about buying or selling near Arlington Park and want to understand how the site's open questions fit into your plans, The PAK Group follows these public filings and calendars closely and is glad to talk through your street and your timeline. You can also request your complimentary home valuation to see where your Arlington Heights home stands today.

This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult a qualified professional about your situation.