What does Phillips' retirement timing say about Bears at Arlington? Signs look good, mayor says
The retirement of longtime Chicago Bears executive Ted Phillips early next year isn't expected to have much bearing on the team's purchase of Arlington Park and plans to convert the racetrack into a new stadium and entertainment complex.
Phillips, who has been with the team for 40 years and is currently the team's president and CEO, has spearheaded the organization's drive to move to the suburbs after offering the owners of the racetrack nearly $200 million for the property last year.
Since the Bears' bid was accepted by owners Churchill Downs, Phillips has said that he expects the sale to be finalized in early 2023 after a "due diligence process."
"And at that point in time, we'll decide whether it's financially feasible to try to develop it further," he said earlier this year. "And I think what's important now is that our focus for long-term development is exclusively on that property at Arlington Park."
The fact that Phillips won't retire until the end of February makes Arlington Heights Mayor Tom Hayes believe the sale is proceeding smoothly.
"My interpretation is that it's a good sign if you read between the lines and know the timeline that everybody is aware of when the deal is set to close," he said. "I'm anticipating that this is absolutely a good sign."
Bears officials announced earlier in the week plans to hold an informational meeting from 7 to 9 p.m. Thursday at Hersey High School in Arlington Heights, where "team leadership" will discuss conceptual plans for a "transit-oriented, mixed-used entertainment district anchored by a stadium."
Roy Arnold, a former track president who led a consortium of developers that attempted to purchase the property and maintain horse racing at the site, said Phillips' pending departure does not change the team's desire to "to bring their valuation in line with other NFL franchises" by "acquiring a stadium that would be under the control of the franchise regardless of where that is."
Arnold said short of a deal that allows the team to build its own stadium along the lakefront, nothing likely stands in the way of the Bears moving to Arlington Heights in the near future.
The 65-year-old Phillips is only the fourth president in the storied history of the Bears franchise. He began as the team's financial controller in 1983 and worked his way up through various executive roles before landing the top spot in 1999.
"It's a demanding job; takes a lot of time, there's a lot of pressure. I just felt like it's time to hand the baton to somebody else," he said in a release issued Friday by the team.