Bally’s is set to finalize a $200 million deal to acquire the Chicago Tribune printing plant from Nexstar Media Group by the end of this month. This purchase is a crucial part of the plan to build the largest casino in Illinois.
Located in River West, the 30-acre plant known as the Freedom Center is set to be resold by Bally’s in order to lease it back to help finance their $1.74 billion casino and hotel project. This strategy was revealed during the company’s third quarter earnings conference earlier this month.
In 2019, Nexstar acquired Tribune Media for $4.1 billion, which included the Freedom Center. Nexstar CFO Lee Ann Gliha commented on Bally’s purchase of the property by stating:
We also anticipate a positive impact on our fourth quarter from the upcoming sale of one of our remaining real estate properties in Chicago, which is expected to result in net cash proceeds of around $155 million. The transaction is scheduled to be finalized later this month.
Bally’s chair Soo Kim anticipates that the agreement will be completed prior to Thanksgiving Day, which falls on November 24th.
The long, rocky road for Bally’s
In May, Bally’s emerged victorious in the competition for the Chicago casino bid, overcoming proposals from Hard Rock and Rivers to secure the opportunity to build a casino in the Windy City.
Bally’s emerged victorious in the race, but their transition to River West and River North has been far from easy. Local residents are less than thrilled about the gaming operator’s arrival in the neighborhood.
Several months following Bally’s submission of a gaming license application to the Illinois Gaming Board (IGB), a River North community group held a meeting with casino representatives. During the meeting, the council outlined 42 concerns they had regarding Bally’s casino proposal.
During a two-hour meeting in September, Chicago’s Committee on Design (CoD) met with representatives from Bally’s to discuss the impact of the casino plans on the surrounding neighborhoods.
In October, Bally’s unveiled a report indicating that the introduction of a temporary casino at Medinah Temple, an entertainment venue in Chicago, would not result in significant traffic disruptions.
Brendan Reilly, the alderperson for the 42nd Ward, emphatically voiced his disagreement with the findings. He made it clear that he strongly opposed them.
In my opinion, this study is severely flawed, lacking in detail, and clearly biased towards the conclusion that a casino would be successful at Medinah Temple. I have reviewed many traffic studies in my time and can confidently say that this one is lacking in substance and would have benefited from an independent analysis.
The show goes on
Despite facing significant criticism, Bally’s remains committed to opening a temporary casino in June 2025, with the permanent location not expected to be operational until 2026.
The Chicago casino is anticipated to generate approximately $200 million in yearly tax revenue for the city. It is also forecasted to become the biggest casino in Illinois, surpassing the size of any of Bally’s 15 existing casinos.
This is what visitors can anticipate from the new casino’s permanent location:
- 500-room hotel
- 3,000-seat theater
- 3,400 slot machines
- 170 table games
- Outdoor music venue
- Six restaurants
