Ladies and gentlemen, it’s happening.

The Bears closed on the Arlington Heights Racecourse yesterday, which makes them one step closer to leaving Soldier Field behind and setting up shop in the ‘burbs. In an open letter, the Bears said finalizing the purchase of the Arlington Heights property does not mean for sure that a new Bears stadium will be built there, but it is “an important next step in our ongoing evaluation of the opportunity.”

According to the team, if the plan for the stadium does go ahead, the development is projected to create more than 48,000 jobs, generate $9.4 billion in economic impact for the Chicago area economy, and provide $3.9 billion in new labor income to workers in the region.

Lori Lightfoot commented,

Chicago, what are your thoughts on this? The conversation lives on Facebook!