Bally’s Evicts Tribune Printing Plant from Future Chicago Casino Site

It was no more surprise, just an expected maculation of spoilt word for Tribune Publishing workers, when Bally’s issued an functionary acknowledge of relocation to the printing industrial plant several weeks ago.

The Rhode Island-based gambling casino companion plans to pulverise the Freedom Center — where the Chicago Tribune, Chicago Sun-Times, Wall Street Journal, and New York Times are currently printed and where the Tribune newsroom is located — to establish Chicago’s number 1 casino.

The Tribune firstly reported receiving the relocation note on Monday.

Bally’s archetype casino be after was selected from among several by the Windy City City Council in May 2022. The balloting was followed by the passageway of an ordinance to amend the city’s laws to set aside cassino gaming. Bally’s $1.74B coordination compound testament include a 500-room hotel, a 3,000-seat theater, 11 restaurants, and 4,000 gaming positions.

While a casino inward the nerve of the city would bring home the bacon thousands of jobs for local residents — as advantageously as assist reimburse a important portion of the hundreds of millions of dollars, Windy City residents take a chance inwards nearby Robert Indiana casinos for each one yr — displacing a major paper publishing procedure is a public dealings problem.

Pursuit of Freedom

Tribune Publishing paid $150M to establish the Freedom Center inwards 1979 (nearly $590M today) on 30 acres on the due north face of the Windy City River. Its gens was submitted via a companywide repugn won past the newspaper’s then-environmental reporter. Casey Bukro well-grounded that the word “freedom” would remind people that “our country is unique for recognizing that a unloose and alive(p) mechanical press is one of the rudimentary necessities for a popular society.”

Bally’s purchased the situation for $200M from Nexstar Media inward Nov 2022, decorous Tribune Publishing’s landlord. (Nexstar acquired the Freedom Center through its $4.1 billion takeover inward 2019 of Tribune Media, the former telecasting program gird of Tribune Publishing. The sell did not include Tribune’s tidings division.)

Within years of its purchase, Bally’s executed a sale leaseback on the bring down with Chicago-based Oak Street Real Estate Capital, rearing $500M for casino expression costs.

Clock is Ticking

Bally’s didn’t delimitate a move-out deadline for Tribune Publishing, but the clock is ticking. Tribune Publishing has no more thirster than II years to encounter a young location for its printing process implant before the casino breaks ground, Bally’s chair Soo Kim told the Chicago Tribune.

Kim had considered saving the Freedom Center, according to the Tribune. Walking the situation with an designer inwards December, they devised the thought to duty period the location of the resort’s hotel to incorporated the newspaper performance as a tourer magnet and long-term casino tenant.

The urban center nixed that idea, Kim told the Tribune.

Tribune Publishing has already exercised an alternative to extend its engage for another 10 years after it expires this June. However, the telephone extension won’t save up the Freedom Center.

“Even with the prolongation option, there’s a clause in the let that allows for us to relocate,” Kim told the Tribune. “And so we started the operation of piquant that clause.”

Still Some Options

Bally’s and Tribune Publishing are engaged in arbitrement to see compensation, according to the Tribune, which notes that Bally’s is required to assist Tribune Publishing feel a like printing location and must share some of its relocation costs. In example that effort fails, according to the Tribune story, Bally’s would need to either bring home the bacon a immediate payment settlement to the society or build a new plant life for Tribune Publishing and take it to them.

Another possibility, according to the Tribune, could follow relocating the Chicago publishing imperium to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel’s idled printing process plant. Tribune Publishing’s parent company, hedging monetary fund Alden Global Capital, purchased that cobbler's last twelvemonth from Gannett for $26M.

Bally’s architectural plan ease requires say favorable reception from the IL Gaming Board. The keep company filed its casino permit covering inwards August. Bally’s expects the license to be approved past spring, followers which it will undetermined a temporary gambling casino in July. Its permanent holiday resort is non expected to surface before 2026.

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