Bally’s Starts Demolition at Site of Permanent Chicago Casino

Posted on: August 27, 2024, 01:10h. 

Last updated on: August 27, 2024, 01:20h.

Todd Shriber @etfgodfather Read More
Expertise: Financial, Gaming Business, Mergers and Acquisitions.

Demolition at the Freedom Center in the River West area of Chicago, home of Bally’s permanent casino hotel, started earlier on Tuesday.

Bally's Chicago casino Freedom Center
The Freedom Center in Chicago. Bally’s started demolition of the site on Tuesday to make way for its permanent casino hotel. (Image: Wikimedia)

The regional casino operator completed a $200 million sale-leaseback deal on the home of the Chicago Tribune printing facility in November 2022. The newspaper vacated the premises in May. Rhode Island-based Bally’s has been operating a temporary gaming venue at Medinah Temple at 600 N. Wabash Ave. for about a year.

It’s expected that demolition will take five months with crews working 12 hours per day, seven days a week. There are some restrictions on the tear-down process. For example, no explosives will be used, excavators must adhere to a 10-mile-per-hour speed limit and, in some cases, hand excavation will be used. Health monitors employed by the city of Chicago will be onsite daily to ensure excessive amounts of dust aren’t being created.

To comply with the city’s noise regulations, demolition will be confined to 8 a.m.-8 p.m. each day. Bally’s has consistently said the permanent Chicago casino resort will open in September 2026, and that remains the plan.

Demolition Starting After Bally’s Landed Financing

Demolition of the Freedom Center is starting about six weeks after Bally’s announced that it procured the financing to make the Chicago integrated resort — the operator’s priciest project to date — a reality.

Last month, the gaming company entered into a series of transactions with real estate investment trust (REIT) Gaming and Leisure Properties for a total of $2.07 billion, allowing it to plug an $800 million funding gap in Chicago. An affiliate of the REIT bought the property assets associated with Bally’s Chicago and will finance up to $940 million in construction costs.

The venue, which will be the lone casino in Chicago city limits, will feature a 500-room hotel, six restaurants, a 3,000-seat theater, and a two-acre public park. The gaming area will have 3,300 slot machines and 173 table games.

The hotel will built on the southern portion of the property. The initial plan called for the hotel to be located at the northern end, but it was later discovered that would damage underground infrastructure, sparking criticism that neither Bally’s nor the city had properly thought out the project.

Bally’s Takeover Unlikely to Affect Chicago Casino Timeline

Last month, Bally’s accepted an $18.25 per share takeover offer from Standard General, the hedge fund helmed by Soo Kim, the gaming company’s chairman. When that bid was floated earlier this year, Kim said acceptance would have no bearing on Bally’s Chicago plans and that he is committed to seeing that project come to life.

That remains the case today and the gaming told some Chicago press outlets that the transaction will not affect its plans in the city.

The Illinois Gaming Board (IGB) said it’s aware of the deal and is monitoring it.