Here's What Chicago's Casino Could Look Like
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CHICAGO — City officials unveiled the five finalist casino proposals Friday, giving Chicagoans a first look at what the city’s first casino could look like.
The five casinos are being proposed for the Chicago Tribune printing site, the old Michael Reese site, near McCormick Place, at the One Central development near Solider Field and in the The 78 megadevelopment along the south branch of the Chicago River.
Each of the proposals, except the Rivers Chicago at McCormick proposed by billionaire Neil Bluhm, would include a new hotel. Rivers Chicago at McCormick would use the 2,900 rooms already available at McCormick Place.
Construction of a casino will mean thousands of jobs and the gambling will result in millions in tax revenue to shore up the city’s underfunded police and fire pension obligations, city leaders said. The ability to have Chicago’s only casino license will also be financial windfall to the winner, but top city officials sought to sell it as an equal win for Chicagoans and local neighborhoods during a conference call with reporters Friday morning.
“Here are five great proposals that are all well over $1 billion worth of development, which will be highly stimulative to our economy,” Deputy Mayor for Economic Development Samir Mayekar said. “All of the proposals truly value Chicago assets.”
Here are the five proposals:
Bally’s Tribune Publishing Center Plan
Bally’s Corporation has two proposals. One would see a $1.8 billion casino built at the current home of the Chicago Tribune and its publishing center along the Chicago River.
The plan includes:
- 3,400 slots
- 173 table games
- 500 hotel rooms
- 6 restaurants, cafes and a food hall
- 3 bars and lounges
- A 3,000-seat entertainment venue
Bally’s Michael Reese Plan
The second option is a $1.6 billion casino located on the South Lakefront near the recently approved Michael Reese mega-development.
The plan includes:
- 3,400 slots
- 173 table games
- 500 hotel rooms
- 6 restaurants, cafes and a food hall
- 3 bars and lounges
- A 3,000-seat entertainment venue
Hard Rock’s One Central Plan
Hard Rock aims to build a $1.7 billion casino at the proposed One Central development near Soldier Field that would take billions in state subsidies get off the ground.
The plan includes:
- 3,000 slots
- 166 table games
- Up to 500 hotel rooms
- 8 restaurants, cafes and a food hall
- 6 bars and lounges
- A 3,500-seat entertainment venue and a spa
Bluhm’s McCormick Place Plan
Billionaire Neil Bluhm’s Rush Street Gaming is behind the other two proposals, one that aims to build a $1.3 billion casino near McCormick Place.
The plan includes:
- 2,600 slots
- 190 table games
- 250 new hotel rooms, plus plans to utilize existing 2,900 McCormick Place hotel rooms
- 12 restaurants, cafes and a food hall
- 4 bars and lounges
- Updates to 4,200-seat Arie Crown Theater
Bluhm’s The 78 Plan
Bluhm’s other proposal would see a $2 billion casino built at The 78, the megadevelopment from Related Midwest that will reshape the city from Chinatown to the South Loop along the south branch of the Chicago River.
The plan includes:
- 2,600 slots
- 190 table games
- 300 hotel rooms
- 8 restaurants, cafes and a food hall
- 5 bars and lounges
- Riverfront venue and plaza; observation deck
City officials did not share details on how they will evaluate the competing proposals.
Jennie Huang Bennett, the city’s chief financial officer, wouldn’t say whether a previous estimate of $200 million in annual tax revenue to the city was still on the table, only committing to the figure being “pretty close to the ballpark” of what the city believes the five proposals could produce.
Each of the finalists maintain the city’s “vision to develop a world-class experience in Chicago,” Mayor Lori Lightfoot said in a statement.
“Each proposal provides a unique vision for what Chicago’s casino-resort could look like, and our expert review committees are ready to dive into discussions to usher in a new and exciting era for our city,” she said.
That each proposal a new entertainment venue is sure to have the city’s independent music venues on edge. They created a new organization, CIVL, to oppose the inclusion of a Live Nation-owned music venue in the controversial Lincoln Yards development that will reshape the north branch of the Chicago River.
Mayekar said the “pie isn’t fixed in terms of our entertainment capacity in the city,” and didn’t rule out a large company like Live Nation being part of a winning bid, but as the city moves forward with the community engagement process “groups like CIVL and others” will have input, he said.
“It is important as part of engagement that the local entertainment industry and all of those players feel like this is additive and complementary to what happens in Chicago today,” he said.
Mayekar also didn’t rule out using taxpayer dollars to support infrastructure surrounding a casino site, but said “one of our guiding principles is, of course, to be very prudent stewards of taxpayer funds.”
A team of city leaders and outside consultants is being formed to review the bids and submit a recommendation to Lightfoot, who will then sell the winning proposal to City Council as it works its way through the zoning and regulatory process.
The bidders will formally present their plans to the public on Dec. 16, according to city officials.
Ultimately, a majority of City Council will have to approve the proposal before the winning bidder can head to the state’s gaming regulator to receive a final operating license.
One alderperson already has come out against one of the proposals.
Ald. Sophia King (4th) has remained steadfast that a casino situated between Lake Michigan and the recently approved Michael Reese megadevelopment is not what her community desires. She promised area residents throughout the Michael Reese zoning process a casino was not proposed for the area.
Another proposal, at the Tribune publishing factory and newsroom along the Chicago River near Chicago Avenue and Halsted Street is supported by local Ald. Walter Burnett (27th).
But Mayekar said it was important that every proposal go through a “similar engagement process” regardless of whether the local alderperson supports creating a casino in their ward.
“Consistency across all the proposals was vital. What’s also vital is our partnership with the City Council,” he said. “All of the community engagement steps that we would normally go through for a complex planned development will be vital here, and certainly the aldermanic voice will be a component of that, but there are many components to these developments, especially a development this large.”
Despite significant pushback from Bluhm about allowing the city’s sports stadiums to build sports books to allow sports gambling in or near their facilities, Mayekar said the Mayor believes multiple sports books and a casino can “coexist.”
“We’ve been paying very close attention to other municipalities where you have sports gaming establishments and casinos and we really haven’t seen a significant cannibalization,” he said.
An ordinance that would allow the city’s professional sports franchises to build the sports books was stalled last month, but is expected to be brought forward for a vote soon.
Huang Bennett said the city’s intention is to have a finalist ready for a City Council vote in “early 2022,” but that ultimately “we’re gonna propose it when it’s the right time.”
If a project receives City Council approval and a final license from the state, the group can establish a temporary casino in the city for up to two years, with a 12-month extension as it builds out the larger casino.
See the full proposals here:
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