Bally’s buys Freedom Center for $200 million, taking ownership of Tribune printing plant and future site of Chicago’s casino

Bally’s completed its $200 million purchase of the Freedom Center printing plant Friday, paving the way to build Chicago’s long-sought and much-debated casino.

The Rhode Island-based company bought the 30-acre River West site from Nexstar Media Group, with plans to transform it into a $1.74 billion casino complex. What becomes of the Chicago Tribune’s 41-year-old printing plant remains to be seen.

Bally’s Chair Soo Kim confirmed the acquisition Friday evening. Nexstar spokesperson Gary Weitman declined to comment.

Dallas-based Nexstar Media Group, the nation’s largest TV station owner, acquired the Freedom Center site in 2019 as part of its $4.1 billion purchase of Tribune Media — the former broadcast parent of Tribune Publishing.

The proposed casino complex would include an exhibition hall, 500-room hotel, a 3,000-seat theater, an outdoor music venue, six restaurants and a gambling floor with 3,400 slots and 170 game tables. Bally’s filed its Chicago casino license application with the Illinois Gaming Board in August, with plans to open a temporary facility at Medinah Temple by June. The permanent casino is not expected to open before 2026.

Meanwhile, Chicago-based Tribune Publishing has exercised an option to extend its printing plant lease at Freedom Center, which is set to expire in June 2023, for another 10 years. Tribune and Nexstar were in arbitration over the terms of the extension. As the new landlord, it is now up to Bally’s to resolve the lease dispute with Tribune.

[ Timeline: How Tribune Publishing — the parent company of the Chicago Tribune — has changed since 2006 ]

The Freedom Center, which opened in 1981, prints the Chicago Tribune, Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Chicago Sun-Times and other newspapers. The massive plant was slated for demolition as part of the development, but Kim has not ruled out the possibility of keeping it on the sprawling site alongside the casino.

Bally’s does, however, have the right to force Tribune to vacate, Kim said. If that happens, Tribune may have an option north of the border. Tribune Publishing’s parent company, hedge fund Alden Global Capital, has purchased the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel’s idled printing plant in West Milwaukee from Gannett for $26 million.

While Bally’s is preparing to develop the 30-acre site, it may not own the land itself for long. The publicly traded company said earlier this month it plans to sell the land and lease it back to raise money for the proposed casino complex.

Bally’s owns and manages 15 casinos across 10 states. It made its entree into Illinois in June 2021 with the $120 million acquisition of Jumer’s Casino & Hotel in Rock Island, which it renamed Bally’s Quad Cities.

In May, Bally’s won a heated competition to build the Chicago casino, which is expected to generate $200 million in annual tax revenue for the city.

rchannick@chicagotribune.com