The Chicago Bears have signed a purchase agreement for the Arlington International Racecourse property in Arlington Heights, The Athletic reported Tuesday evening.

The team is expected to announce the news Wednesday morning, the publication said.

“We are not surprised by this move. We remain committed to continuing the work to keep the team in Chicago and have advised the Bears that we remain open to discussions,” a spokesperson for the mayor’s office said in a statement to The Athletic. “However, just as the Bears view this as a business decision, so does the City. This season, Soldier Field signed a major contract with the Chicago Fire and just last weekend Soldier Field hosted the Shamrock Series – both of which are lucrative for the Chicago Park District and local economy.”

Arlington Park ran what was largely believed to be its final races Saturday amid the ongoing sale process for the 326-acre property at Euclid Avenue and Wilke Road. Track owner Churchill Downs Inc. is selling the expansive site for redevelopment and has been combing through proposals and offers since a mid-June deadline.

Among the bidders that have been revealed publicly: the Bears, who have toyed with the idea of leaving the city for the suburbs, and specifically Arlington Park, in the past; a consortium led by former Arlington Park President Roy Arnold, who wants to preserve the oval and grandstand for horse racing; and a host of mixed use developers, including Chicago-based Glenstar Properties, Schaumburg-based UrbanStreet Group and Naperville-based Crown Community Development.

Corporate brass at Churchill, the Louisville, Kentucky-based horse racing and gambling company, have only said they received “numerous” bids and are working through the process to select a buyer.

Arlington Heights Mayor Tom Hayes had said he expects the company to make an announcement sometime this fall.