Editorial: Dear Churchill Downs, please decide soon on future of Arlington Park property

Dear Bill Carstanjen and leadership of Churchill Downs:

We know you have a lot on your plate these days, what with the final day of racing at Arlington Park - at least under your ownership - just eight days away.

We also know that Arlington Park is just a small part of your world, one of many gambling ventures you're juggling, and that other more lucrative operations could use some startup cash.

But Arlington Heights is our world.

We understand that your stockholders want to maximize whatever deal you make on the sale of Arlington.

We know the brilliant white grandstand is almost in your rearview at this point. But for the village of Arlington Heights, it's all about what comes next.

So you'll pardon us if we're all champing at the bit wondering what will become of the grandstand, the track and all of the prime acreage that surrounds it.

Ever since you announced on Feb. 23 that you were putting the 326-acre facility on the market, the Daily Herald has been looking at the potential types of businesses that could occupy that space and evaluating the pluses and minuses of each.

And every time we do so, we unlock a little more about how neighbors, businesses, workers and the region could be affected by the outcome of the sale. Yes, even Arlington's legacy - and yours - hang in the balance.

This is not idle curiosity, mind you.

What happens here will in a large sense define the future of the village. We have questions - so many questions.

Will you sell all of the acreage to one owner? Will it be a horse-racing operation? Will it be the Chicago Bears? Both? Will you sell or lease?

Will it feature some sort of complete planned development that will provide both sales and property taxes? Or are you looking instead at selling off chunks piecemeal to different buyers?

What is guiding your decision-making? What are the most important factors to you?

This might be a minor thing on your ledger sheet, but it's everything to Arlington Heights. And to many of the surrounding suburbs too, for that matter. The worst thing you could do would be to lock up the doors, chain the gates and let the land remain fallow - allowing it to fall into disrepair and become both an eyesore and a hazard - while waiting for the right buyer to come along.

You could be the partner that helped usher in a bright new future for Arlington Heights. Or you could be the tenant that leaves a once-proud beacon of Arlington Heights in a shambles.

The sooner you can make a decision, the sooner we can move on.

Please take to heart what you leave behind.