Chicago Fire FC announces plans to build new, privately funded soccer stadium at ‘The 78’ in the city’s South Loop

CHICAGO (WGN) — It looks like a resident will finally be moving in to anchor “The 78,” the vacant piece of land in Chicago’s South Loop that’s been a proposed site for several developments over the years, most recently a new White Sox stadium.

But a different Chicago pro sports team, the Fire of Major League Soccer, is now poised to move into the 62-acre site along the Chicago River at Roosevelt Road, developed by Related Midwest and called “The 78” for its potential to become the city’s 78th neighborhood.

The Fire announced plans early Tuesday morning for a privately financed $650 million, 22,000-seat soccer stadium at “The 78.” The stadium will be open-air, with a natural grass field, and will cover approximately nine acres of the site.

According to the team, the stadium will be the first part of a larger, mixed-use district that will take shape around it at “The 78.” This would include new homes, world-class dining and shopping, local artwork, outdoor gathering space, affordable housing, and a half-mile riverwalk, according to the Fire.

“Chicago is where I built my business, my family and my life,” Joe Mansueto, Fire owner and chairman, said in a “Dear Chicago” letter released with the new stadium announcement.

“And while I never set out to own a professional sports team, when the chance came to purchase the Chicago Fire in 2018, I couldn’t pass it up. Soccer is the world’s game and a world-class city like ours deserves a world-class club — with a world-class home to match.”

The team says the initial phase of stadium construction is scheduled to begin in fall 2025 or early 2026, with a target completion date in time to host matches for the 2028 MLS regular season.

The Fire, who began play in 1998, have split their home matches over the years between Soldier Field and SeatGeek Stadium in Bridgeview. The team’s current home is Soldier Field, which at 61,500 seats is a huge venue for MLS matches and is usually about two-thirds empty when the Fire play there.

And due to conflicts with Bears preseason and regular season games, the Fire just announced they’ve moved a third match later this season from Soldier Field to SeatGeek Stadium.

So “The 78” would seem to be an ideal marriage between a developer that wants a tenant on the land and a franchise that wants a soccer-specific stadium in the city.

“Related Midwest needs an anchor tenant for that site,” Marc Ganis, a veteran Chicago-based stadium consultant, told WGN News via Zoom on Tuesday. “They’ve been looking for one for many years now.”

According to the Chicago Tribune, “The 78” is pre-approved for stadium use, but the Fire will still need the City Council to sign off on the new stadium project. Sources confirmed to WGN TV News that the first virtual town hall to discuss the proposed stadium is scheduled for June 16.

Additionally, the Tribune says the Fire have already retained an agent to sell naming rights for the new stadium, which would help the franchise with its cost.

A big part of “The 78’s” allure to a pro sports franchise is its prime location. There are four Chicago Transit Authority train stops nearby, along with the LaSalle Street Metra Station. A parking garage and water taxis are also in the Fire’s plans.

The team says the project is estimated to create “thousands of jobs for Chicagoans” in construction, operations and hospitality, with community-based contractors and suppliers also being prioritized.

“This project is more than just a stadium,” Mansueto wrote in his letter. “It’s a space for fans of all ages, backgrounds and neighborhoods to come together and celebrate the beautiful game — right in the heart of our city.

“It’s about investing in Chicago, not just on match days, but every day as a committed community partner.”

Private vs. public funding

The Fire’s proposal to build a new stadium on “The 78” now raises questions about how the White Sox will proceed with their new stadium plans after the MLB franchise released renderings of a proposed new ballpark at “The 78” in February 2024.

Responding to an inquiry from WGN, the White Sox said they’re still considering “The 78” as an option for a new ballpark. The site would presumably have room for both projects.

“Related Midwest first approached the White Sox about building a new ballpark on a piece of property they were developing, and we continue to consider the site as an option,” a team spokesperson said in a statement. “We believe in Related Midwest’s vision for ‘The 78’ and remain confident the riverfront location could serve as a home to both teams.

“We continue to have conversations with Related Midwest about the site’s possibilities and opportunities.”

But there’s one big difference between each franchise’s proposal for “The 78”: The Fire’s proposal asks for no public funding, whereas the White Sox reportedly asked for about $1 billion in public funding in their proposal.

Ganis says it’s good that the White Sox seemingly haven’t closed the door on their plans for “The 78,” but a stadium requiring significant public funding is a much different proposal than the Fire’s, which requires none.

“We still come back to the issue of, how does it get paid for?” Ganis said.

While the Fire still need official city approval to proceed with the new stadium project, their plan to privately finance it is a key to securing the political support necessary to get it done.

It’s been repeatedly proven during the Bears and White Sox stadium sagas that there’s no political appetite for public funding for new venues for pro sports teams.

The Bears now seem certain to proceed with their stadium project outside the city, on land they own in northwest suburban Arlington Heights, after previous proposals to build a new stadium downtown along the lakefront — which asked for significant public funding — found little support among state or city lawmakers.

Granted, a 22,000-seat soccer venue carries a price tag lower than an MLB stadium, which would seat around 35,000 to 40,000, or an NFL stadium, which might seat around 70,000 or so.

Nonetheless, the ability of Mansueto and Fire leadership to finance a new stadium project with no public money is a huge benefit to the city that neither the Bears or White Sox were able to — or did not want to — commit to, at least up to this point.

Mayor Brandon Johnson said during his weekly news conference Tuesday morning that “we need more projects like this” when addressing the Fire’s plan.

“I’ve made it very clear that any type of development in the City of Chicago has to have a public benefit and public use,” the mayor said.

A self-made billionaire, Mansueto grew up in Northwest Indiana and came to the city for college about 50 years ago. He earned his MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business and founded Morningstar in 1984. He’s been executive chairman of the company since 2017.

Moving around

The Fire won their first and so far only MLS Cup in 1998, their very first season.

After playing at Soldier Field for the first part of their existence, the Fire moved into a new stadium in Bridgeview — then called Toyota Stadium but now SeatGeek Stadium — in 2006, with a lease that ran through 2036, according to the Tribune.

But after Mansueto took over full ownership of the franchise in 2019, he wanted to move it back to the city and began negotiations with Bridgeview to buy out the remainder of the Fire’s lease there. In July 2019, an agreement was made official, with the Fire paying Bridgeview $65.5 million to buy out the rest of the lease and move the franchise back to Soldier Field.

The Fire have increased their home attendance each year that Mansueto has owned the franchise, according to the team, averaging almost 22,000 per match in 2024 — a figure that fills Soldier Field just over a third of the way but would fill the proposed new stadium to capacity.

On Sunday, April 13, the Fire set a franchise record for attendance when 62,358 people poured into Soldier Field to watch the Fire host Inter Miami and Argentinian superstar Lionel Messi. The match ended in a 0-0 draw after 90 minutes.

In addition to the attendance record in April and the new stadium proposal announcement on Tuesday, the Fire have generated some other headlines recently.

They just opened a brand-new practice facility, the Endeavor Health Performance Center, in the Roosevelt Square neighborhood on Chicago’s Near West Side. The formerly vacant Chicago Housing Authority site is only about two miles west of “The 78.”

And in October, the Fire named former U.S. Men’s National Soccer Team head coach Gregg Berhalter as their new head coach and director of football operations.

The Fire are currently 6-5-4 through 15 regular season matches this season and sit in 11th place in MLS’ 15-team Eastern Conference entering Tuesday. They next play D.C. United at 6:30 p.m. Saturday at Audi Field in Washington, D.C.