$60M Arena Proposed for Northwest Suburbs

HOFFMAN ESTATES, IL-Ryan Cos. and Sears Roebuck are planning to build an 11,000-seat, $60-million arena in the Prairie Stone Business Park, and they begin the formal process of winning village approval tonight. The partnership is asking the village to help finance the project with $50 million in general obligation bonds.

The Hoffman Estates Center will showcase concerts, ice shows, family programs, hockey games, Arena football league games, college basketball tournaments, tennis matches and tournaments, boxing matches and exhibitions. Its closest competitor is the 17,000-seat Allstate Arena east on the Northwest Tollway in Rosemont.

“With the commitment from Sears, the anticipated support of the village of Hoffman Estates, and an underserved marketplace, all the pieces are in place to make this a very special and exciting project,” says Jeff Smith, regional president of Ryan Cos. US, Inc., whose company is 75% owner of the project.