Bally’s Corp. has made some changes to its ambitious 30-acre Chicago casino development, including plans for its hotel.
The project is still getting a 500-key hotel. However, in the latest design update, the tower has been moved to sit along the southern end of the future Bally’s Chicago Casino, near Ohio Street along the Chicago River, pending approval by the Chicago Department of Planning & Development, Bally’s detailed in a release. The hotel was moved due to unforeseen underground infrastructure, Bally’s said.
The 34-story hotel tower will feature a large pool spa, fitness center, a sun deck and a rooftop restaurant bar with views of the Chicago skyline. It’s now expected to be completed in a single-phase construction project financed by Wyomissing, Pennsylvania-based Gaming and Leisure Properties.
“Gaming and Leisure Properties has agreed to finance the entire development in a single phase to deliver a better project in a more efficient manner,” Bally’s President George Papanier said.
Bally’s Chicago Casino is planned for the former Tribune Publishing site at 777 W. Chicago Ave., which Bally’s took possession of earlier this month and is being prepared for demolition, Bally’s said.
“With keys to the property in hand, the new financing secured, a site plan that exceeds the original, and demolition set to start this summer, let there be no doubt that Bally’s Chicago Casino and Hotel will soon rise up along the Chicago River,” Papanier said, adding that the project “absolutely intend[s] to meet the September 2026 opening date as planned.”
When the city of Chicago approved the 30-acre development in May 2023, Bally’s estimated its total project costs at $1.7 billion. Beyond the hotel, the project will include a casino with approximately 3,300 slots; a 3,000-seat theater; six restaurants, cafes and a food hall; and a 2-acre public park.
In Las Vegas, Bally’s is working with Gaming and Leisure Properties to build a Major League Baseball stadium for the Oakland Athletics on the site of the former Tropicana Las Vegas casino resort.
