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CBS News
4 days ago
- Business
- CBS News
Chicago Fire give sneak peek at renderings for new stadium at The 78 in the South Loop
Chicago Fire release renderings of new stadium at The 78 Chicago Fire release renderings of new stadium at The 78 Chicago Fire release renderings of new stadium at The 78 The Chicago Fire released a sneak peek at renderings of the new stadium they're building in the South Loop. The $650 million digs will be built along the Chicago River at The 78, a vacant plot of land south of Roosevelt Road. It will be privately funded by club owner Joe Mansueto and hold up to 22,000 fans. The design is an ode to the warehouses that represent the city of Chicago's grit. Construction is set to begin early in 2026 and the club hopes to have the stadium open to fans by 2028. CBS News Chicago spoke with club president Dave Baldwin about the decision to build in the South Loop. "It was important for our owner Joe that it was inside the city," Baldwin said. He said Mansueto fell in love with The 78 site, its accessibility and proximity to public transit, and how it was build-ready, with utilities in place. "Then Joe started thinking about how he wanted to acquire the land and Joe ultimate decided to take this himself," Baldwin said. Currently, the Chicago Fire host their games at Soldier Field.
Associated Press
5 days ago
- Sport
- Associated Press
Chicago Fire of the MLS release renderings for their new stadium
CHICAGO (AP) — The Chicago Fire envision a new stadium with a throwback look, according to renderings released by the Major League Soccer Club on Monday. The privately funded, 22,000-seat stadium built along the Chicago River on a 62-acre parcel of land in the city's South Loop known as 'The 78' would boast an industrial look with its red brick exterior and large glass panels. The renderings show sweeping views of the Willis Tower and large gathering spaces outside the stadium. The Fire, who currently play at Soldier Field, announced plans two weeks ago to build their new home on the plot owned by development firm Related Midwest. The team expects to break ground this year and move there in 2028. Major League Baseball's Chicago White Sox are looking to move from their South Side home at Rate Field and build a new stadium with public assistance at 'The 78' as part of a ballpark village with large green spaces, restaurants, businesses and housing. A new stadium for the Fire would not necessarily prevent the White Sox from building a ballpark on that site. ___ AP soccer:
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Chicago Fire of the MLS release renderings for their new stadium
CHICAGO (AP) — The Chicago Fire envision a new stadium with a throwback look, according to renderings released by the Major League Soccer Club on Monday. The privately funded, 22,000-seat stadium built along the Chicago River on a 62-acre parcel of land in the city's South Loop known as 'The 78' would boast an industrial look with its red brick exterior and large glass panels. The renderings show sweeping views of the Willis Tower and large gathering spaces outside the stadium. Advertisement The Fire, who currently play at Soldier Field, announced plans two weeks ago to build their new home on the plot owned by development firm Related Midwest. The team expects to break ground this year and move there in 2028. Major League Baseball's Chicago White Sox are looking to move from their South Side home at Rate Field and build a new stadium with public assistance at 'The 78' as part of a ballpark village with large green spaces, restaurants, businesses and housing. A new stadium for the Fire would not necessarily prevent the White Sox from building a ballpark on that site. ___ AP soccer: The Associated Press
Forbes
04-06-2025
- Business
- Forbes
New Chicago Fire Stadium Will Leave Just 6 MLS Clubs As 2nd Tenants
A detail of the Apple TV logo on the kit of Chicago Fire FC during the first half against the CF ... More Montreal at Soldier Field on March 29. The Chicago Fire stole the MLS news cycle on Tuesday with the announcement of the league's next soccer-specific stadium project. The plan to build a $650 million, privately financed 22,000-seat venue at a tract of vacant downtown land long earmarked for redevelopment and known locally as "The 78" is intented to give the Fire a new, permanent home by the 2028 MLS season. Of course, this will be the second such 'permanent' venue the Fire have occupied. However, the suburban SeatGeek Stadum in Bridgeview, Ill., proved a difficult draw for the city's largely urban fanbase. And after buying the club in 2019, Joe Mansueto paid to opt out of the lease on that facility to move the team back to downtown Soldier Field, whose primary tenant is the NFL's Chicago Bears. When Mansueto's new stadium project is completed there will only be six MLS teams left who are not their venue's primary tenant. (New York City FC is set to move into its new ground in Queens in 2027). Here's more about those six clubs, and whether they might eventually follow the Fire's path. The Revs have played in Foxborough, Mass., throughout their existence as an MLS founding club, as the secondary tenant of two different stadiums built for the NFL's New England Patriots. The Kraft family owns both teams, and for a considerable time did not express major interest in trying to relocate the MLS outfit. That has changed in recent years, with a proposed plan to build a smaller soccer-specific venue in Everett, Mass., just a couple miles north of downtown Boston. But it still needs political approval, meaning for now the Revs remain at Gillette Stadium. The FIFA World Cup Trophy is displayed at BC Place Stadium. The Whitecaps are currently a secondary tenant in BC Place, which is also the home of the CFL's BC Lions, and a public disclosure last year that the team is up for sale has prompted some fears of relocations. Amid that backdrop, there have been ongoing discussions about building a soccer-specific venue at the city's PNE Fairgrounds, where the MLS club once played in a temporary modular home while BC Place underwent renovations. But nothing formal has been announced. The Sounders are one of the league's perennial attendance leaders, and as such, playing the 68,740-seat Lumen Field of the NFL's Seattle Seahawks doesn't provide atmosphere challenges that it might in some markets. That said, the Sounders ownership is separate from that of the Seahawks. And the club has exlored building a permanent stadium at the site of their new training facility in Renton, Wash., a suburb about 10 miles south and west of downtown Seattle. Fans celebrate a goal scored by Julian Gressel of Atlanta United during the first half of the 2019 ... More Eastern Conference final. The Five Striples have played at Mercedes-Benz Stadium since it opened, and while they are the secondary tenant behind the NFL's Atlanta Falcons, the teams share the same owner, Arthur Blank. As such, there are no active discussions to build a soccer-specific venue, nor a pressing financial need to assume control of stadium revenue since, effectively, the club already does. And as the league's perennial attendance leader, the ability to play in an NFL-size venue has probably put Atlanta at a financial advantage. The Crown are built in the same model as the Five Stripes, as a secondary tenant in the venue of an NFL team also controlled by the club owner, in this case David Tepper. And like Atlanta, they also appear unlikely to go on the search for a separate venue. They've ranked second in attendance in each of their first three seasons in the league, behind Atlanta and in front of Seattle, making them another club for whom the extra seats at times can be a benefit. A view of the field during the 2023 NWSL Championship between the OL Reign and NJ/NY Gotham FC at ... More Snapdragon Stadium. It's difficult to know whether to include San Diego in this list, because while the newest MLS club is not the primary tenant of Snapdragon Stasdium, the venue was built with MLS in mind. With roughly 35,000 seats, Snapdragon Stadium is only slightly larger than most MLS stadiums build specifically for their clubs. But the San Diego State football program is the venue's primary operator.
Forbes
02-06-2025
- Business
- Forbes
Bears' Push For Stadium Funding On Hold Until November
Audience members listen as representatives from the Chicago Bears present their concept for building ... More a stadium and entertainment district on the site of Arlington International Racecourse during an informational public meeting at Hersey High School in Arlington Heights, Illinois, on Sept. 8, 2022. (Chris Sweda/Chicago Tribune/Tribune News Service via Getty Images) For the second session in a row, the Illinois legislature adjourned without bringing the Bears' request for stadium funding to the floor for consideration. After spending some of 2023 and most of '24 seeking help in constructing a state-of-the-art facility on the banks of Lake Michigan, adjacent to Soldier Field, the Bears shifted their focus to land they own in Arlington Heights, in Chicago's northwest suburbs. The 326-acre site had been home to the Arlington (Park) Racecourse, which for years hosted the Arlington Million race. It appears in many ways an ideal location for a retractable roof stadium capable of hosting Super Bowls and non-football events like the Final Four. But the team's first choice was to stay in the city, with mayor Brandon Johnson and other Chicago politicians trying to put together public financing to help the team on the project. Continuing opposition led to a recent pivot to Arlington Heights in the winter. Team president Kevin Warren confirmed that to reporters during the NFL meetings in May. The franchise, which recently was formally transferred from the late Virginia McCaskey to son George McCaskey and her other heirs, has said it will build the $2 billion stadium with its money and a grant from the NFL but is seeking about $2.4 billion in public funding for both new debt and upgrades to infrastructure (mainly roads and the nearby Metra train station, a vital link to bring fans from downtown). Warren has said he believes the issue can be addressed in time for construction to begin before the end of 2025. But the public shift in preference from a downtown stadium to one in the suburbs apparently happened too late for the measure to even be formally debated by the legislature. 'I don't know who works with the Bears on their timing, but I would say they've mastered the art of bad timing,' state Sen. Robert Peters told the Chicago Tribune in May. 'I wish they could master the art of having a good team instead of doing this.' The spring session ended on Sunday, after approving a $55.2 billion budget submitted by Gov. JB Pritzker. State legislators will return to Springfield, Ill., in the fall. 'We were super close and just ran out of time,' Rep. Mary Beth Canty, who represents Arlington Heights, told the Tribune. 'We're going to keep working all through the summer.' Pritzker has said his preference is for the team to remain downtown but has publicly remained opposed to state funding. The size of the state's budget has grown by about 38 percent since he took office without any new construction on sports facilities. Chicago White Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf is also seeking funding to build a new stadium. His effort to move the team to a location in the South Loop appears stalled. One new element of the Bears' situation is how the Chicago faction in the legislature is openly working against the team's move to the suburbs. 'The Bears have made it clear — they no longer want to be in Chicago,' Rep. Kam Buckner told the Tribune. 'That's their decision. But if they want to leave and use state dollars or ask for special tax protections to do it, they'll have to come through Springfield. And in Springfield, that means facing the Chicago delegation directly.' While no motions specifically addressing stadium funding were filed in the spring session, others involving taxing districts on so-called mega-projects, were introduced but did not come to a vote. The Bears successfully negotiated tax rates with village officials in Arlington Heights but are seeking assurances those rates won't be heavily adjusted in future years. The Bears have played in Chicago since moving from Decatur, Ill., in the early 1920s. The team has never owned its stadium, playing mostly at Wrigley Field and Soldier Field. The lease on Soldier Field runs through 2033 but includes an agreement for the team to pay a penalty if it leaves earlier, with that fee decreasing annually until expiration. The Bears agreed to purchase the Arlington Park horse track site from the Churchill Downs group in 2022 and closed on the $197.2-million deal in February, 2023. But the focused shifted back to downtown after Warren was hired away from his position as Big Ten commissioner later in '23. He orchestrated the Minnesota Vikings' downtown stadium project while working as their chief administrative (and later operating) officer in 2005-19. The Bears' proposed downtown stadium came with an estimated cost of $3.2 billion when it was announced in April, 2024. The Bears offered to pay $2 billion, including an NFL grant, leaving public funding responsible for $1.2 million in construction costs in addition to infrastructure improvements. Soldier Field was remodeled through public financing in 2002. The Illinois Sports Facility Authority still owes almost $600 million in principal and interest for that project. The Illinois General Assembly's fall session typically occurs in November, with its primary charge being the consideration of the governor's vetoes of bills from the regular session. The Bears may seek to add a special session to consider stadium funding rather than waiting until the 2026 regular session convenes in January. Bears' lobbyists, including a former Pritzker aide, have been quietly meeting with Prizker's staff and an outside advisor in recent months. The state hired Steve Argeris, a New York- and Washington, D.C.-based lawyer, as part of its due diligence on the stadium effort, according to the Chicago Tribune. Argeris previously worked for the owners of the NFL's Carolina Panthers. His participation is a sign the state is gathering information and may be moving closer to formally considering funding measures.
