Soohyung Kim
executive
Thank you, Wanda, and thank you, everyone, for joining us on today's call. The purpose of the call is to reiterate our deep commitment to Bally's Chicago, provide an update on our progress and to address some misperceptions out there in the press. I want to start by reiterating our excitement that Bally's Chicago is on track to open in early 2027. That hasn't changed. September 9, 2026, marked the 3-year anniversary of the opening of Bally's Chicago temporary casino located in Medinah Temple. There's also a date we appeared before the Chicago City Council to provide information on the status of construction, Bally's financials and our compliance with the host community agreement with the city of Chicago.
Since being selected in 2022 as a winner of the RFP to become Chicago's sole casino, Bally's have worked diligently in good faith with the city, organized labor regulators and the broader Chicago community to deliver a world-class integrated casino and resort. However, there have been inaccurate reports suggesting that construction has stopped or paused. It has not. Construction continues every day. and there are approximately 1,000 skilled trade people working on the construction of the permanent Bally's Chicago resort. This project is a game changer for the city as it is creating well-paying jobs, entertainment and new sources of revenue for the city and its residents while creating a world-class attraction for tourists, thus providing additional economic benefit.
What has not been reported accurately in the media is that Bally's expects to meet the $1.34 billion minimum capital commitment acquired under our agreements with the City of Chicago. For more information about Bally's capital resources, please refer to Bally's public filings. Now to address the current issue, in July of 2026, Bally's notified the city of Chicago with the legalization of video gaming terminals or BGT in the city of Chicago was a violation of the terms and economic underpin of the host community agreement we signed with the city of Chicago.
In August, we notified our general contractor that we were revaluing the phasing of certain nongaming elements of the Chicago process in light of the uncertainty created by the legalization of BGT in Chicago. Bally's took these actions because our responsibility is clear. From Our responsibilities, we are acting to protect our investors, those that have accessed the opportunity to invest directly in the project. We have a responsibility to our investors to preserve the value of Bally's Chicago and to ensure the commitments that underpin this investment and our agreement with the City of Chicago are honored. Bally's and its financial backers made a significant long-term commitment to Chicago based on clearly defined agreements with the city and acknowledge regulatory and competitive environment. We remain committed to the project and to fulfilling every obligation of ours under the HCA, host community agreement.
Now let me address the construction reset and what it needs. In August, Bally's Chicago changed how we were sequencing certain elements now of the development. Bally's was on pace to exceed both development deliverables and time lines required under HCA. We were over delivering on our promises. And let me be clear, this reset is not a pause or a stoppage, we are aligning the sequencing of our investments and development with requirements and time lines established under the year that is disciplined capital allocation reflecting the interest of our investors, employees and the community.
In summary, investors should view our actions through a straightforward lens. We are protecting the value of significant investments we're making in Chicago while basically executing against our contractual opposition. And let me say this again, we remain fully committed to Chicago. We're committed to opening in early 2027, and we remain committed to delivering the requirements of HCA as we continue discussions with the city of Chicago and the Chicago City Council about the impact of legalization that BGTs will have on Bally's Chicago. These positions are entirely consistent, honor our commitments, protect our investors and expect our contractual partner to honor its can as well. Bally's Chicago will be the first casino in the city a destination hotel and entertainment venue that will showcase the best of Chicago arts and culture, in sports and curated timing and entertainment experiences.
We look forward to welcoming everyone to the property in early 2027 and invite everyone to tour the site and see the progress for themselves. Bally's Chicago will send direct correspondence to our shareholders to sign up to tours of our permanent Bally's Chicago site, which is our new construction currently. You will have an opportunity to find for convenient time slots where you can see the progress through a guided tour. That correspondence will come out later this week. We appreciate your support and enthusiast surrounding Bally's Chicago. Thank you.
