After nearly a decade of big swings and misses, including a recent failed bid to build a new White Sox ballpark, The 78 and developer Related Midwest may have finally found an anchor tenant to kick-start the proposed mixed-use megadevelopment in the South Loop.
The Chicago Fire announced plans Tuesday for a privately financed $650 million soccer stadium at the mostly vacant 62-acre site along the Chicago River at Roosevelt Road, giving the team a “world-class home,” and potentially turning the former rail yard into a bustling South Side Wrigleyville.
“It’s transformative for the club, and I think for the city as well,” said Fire owner Joe Mansueto, 68, the founder and executive chairman of Chicago-based investment research firm Morningstar, who bought the team in 2019.
Designed by architectural firm Gensler, the proposed 22,000-seat, open-air soccer stadium would be located at the north end of the long-fallow development. It would feature a natural grass pitch, an array of seating — including club options and luxury suites — and an intimate setting for fans to cheer the Fire on match days.
The new stadium is scheduled to break ground as early as this fall, pending approval from the city, with a target completion date ahead of the 2028 MLS regular season. The Fire currently play at a rarely filled Soldier Field on a newly signed three-year lease extension.
Mansueto said the new right-sized soccer stadium will be the perfect fit for Fire fans and the city.
“I think we should sell out every game.” Mansueto said. “We want to create this unrivaled match day experience.”
The undeveloped swath of land bordered by Roosevelt Road, Clark Street and a half-mile stretch of riverfront south of downtown Chicago, has been a field of dreams for Related Midwest since acquiring it in 2016. The ambitious plan from the outset was to create a sprawling residential, retail and commercial development that would become the city’s 78th neighborhood.
Over the years, The 78 has been in the running for everything from Amazon’s second headquarters to a Chicago casino, but time and again, Related was unable to land that elusive anchor tenant to catalyze the megadevelopment. Last year, the White Sox proposed a new publicly funded ballpark at The 78, but Springfield lawmakers balked at the idea of contributing a reported $1 billion to build it. That’s when the Fire stepped up.
“We have always believed in this location and our ability to build something great, we just needed a partner,” said Curt Bailey, president of Related Midwest. “All of our preparation, all of our work, all of our disappointment, got us to the perfect place where we met with Joe and the Fire, and it was a great match.”
While the city needs to sign off on the proposed Fire stadium, the project will not require public funding, increasingly the biggest impediment to building a new sports facility.
Mansueto, a self-made billionaire who grew up in northwest Indiana and bootstrapped the launch of Morningstar from his Lincoln Park apartment in 1984, said teams should foot the bill for their own stadiums.
“It is my belief that these stadiums should be privately financed,” said Mansueto, who earned an MBA at the University of Chicago. “Most of the value accrues to the sports team. So it’s only fair that the sports team shoulders the cost of its construction.”
In addition to funding the $650 million stadium, the Fire recently opened a new $100 million training facility 2 miles west of The 78 at a formerly vacant 30-acre Chicago Housing Authority site on the Near West Side.
With the Bears likely leaving for a new stadium in Arlington Heights and the White Sox also recently shopping for a new home, the Chicago Fire are planting roots in the city that could substantially grow the fan base.
“Joe Mansueto isn’t just building a soccer stadium — he’s reshaping the future of soccer in Chicago,” MLS Commissioner Don Garber said in a statement. “This is one of the most ambitious stadium projects in Major League Soccer history, and a powerful reflection of Joe’s extraordinary commitment to the Fire, the fans, and the city.”
There is certainly plenty of upside for the Fire, which has yet to ignite a large following among Chicago sports fans during much of the team’s somewhat itinerant 27-year history.
Founded as an early Major League Soccer expansion team, the Fire began playing at Soldier Field, winning the league championship during their inaugural season in 1998.
In 2006, the Fire moved into a newly built, $98 million stadium in Bridgeview, then known as Toyota Park, with a lease that ran through 2036. The 20,000-seat venue, which was rebranded as SeatGeek Stadium in 2018, was the Fire’s home for 14 seasons.
When Mansueto bought the Fire for about $325 million in 2019, he negotiated a $65.5 million lease buyout with Bridgeview, allowing a move back to Soldier Field, where post-pandemic attendance is rising.
“We are the Chicago Fire,” Mansueto said. “So it was important to me that we be in the city proper.”
On April 13, the Fire set an attendance record with 62,358 fans at Soldier Field for an MLS match against Inter Miami and Argentinian superstar Lionel Messi. The teams played for 90 minutes to a 0-0 draw.
Last season, the Fire averaged 21,327 fans per game at Soldier Field, leaving the stadium two-thirds empty for most matches. At 61,500 seats, Soldier Field is the smallest venue in the NFL, but it is huge for the MLS, where stadiums average 25,000 to 30,000 seats.
Selling out the proposed 22,000-seat soccer stadium at The 78 could be a regular occurrence, and be a much better experience for fans and players.
“Having a completely full stadium, intimate, everybody’s close to the pitch … should just be an awesome experience for our fans,” Mansueto said. “We want to create a fortress for our team, really provide an edge that teams are intimidated coming to play us.”
The MLS has 30 teams playing 34 regular season matches from March through October. Mansueto said the new stadium will also host concerts and events to keep it busy throughout the year.
The Fire has already retained an agent to sell stadium naming rights, a standard practice at sports venues to defray the cost. The new stadium will also likely increase the value of the franchise.
Helped by the 10-year, $2.5 billion partnership with Apple TV+ inked in 2023, the value of MLS franchises continues to rise, averaging $690 million per club, with the Los Angeles Football Club, Inter Miami and the LA Galaxy all worth more than $1 billion, according to the annual Forbes list published in February.
The Chicago Fire ranks 24th at $530 million, near the bottom of the list, which pegs annual revenue for the team at $51 million.
“I think one of the things that has restrained the value of the club is not having our own stadium,” Mansueto said. “Hopefully, after this gets done, those numbers will move upward.”
Building the stadium will also be central to realizing the broader vision for The 78, which includes retail, residential, outdoor gathering spaces and a half-mile riverwalk, none of which has yet come to fruition.
Even Discovery Partners Institute, a University of Illinois-led initiative given free land in 2018 to build a technology innovation hub at The 78, canceled plans in October for an eight-story tower at the development, announcing the project would relocate to the Illinois Quantum and Microelectronics Park planned for the former U.S. Steel site on the city’s South Side.
For the past two years, The 78 has served as winter storage for the 2,200 concrete barriers that line the temporary NASCAR Chicago Street Race course in Grant Park, which will return for its third annual run during the Fourth of July weekend.
More recently, the Chicago Sport & Social Club opened some pop-up pickleball courts by the river at The 78 for its summer outdoor leagues. A mini soccer pitch and softball field are also in recreational play.
Bailey expects things to get a lot busier when the Fire stadium gets built, with thousands of fans descending on the site for match days, arriving by car, public transportation — including a nearby “L” station and multiple bus lines — and even by water taxi.
Once there, Bailey said The 78 may feel very much like Wrigleyville during Cubs games, with festive fans strolling the neighborhood amid retail, restaurants, bars and open space for events, concerts and other activities.
“The environment there, created organically over 100 years, is something that we will try to re-create, in as organic a process as we can given that we’re building new,” Bailey said. “But absolutely, that energy, that housing surrounding a great stadium, is exactly what we’re going to create, and I think it’s going to be a game changer for this part of the city.”
While The 78 is pre-approved for stadium use, the Fire will still need the City Council to sign off on the project. The first community meeting to discuss the proposed stadium is set for June 16, hosted by Ald. Pat Dowell, whose 3rd Ward includes The 78.
Mansueto said he is confident the city and neighboring communities will get behind the Fire stadium, as will the growing ranks of Chicago soccer fans.
Mayor Brandon Johnson said the stadium plan is a “good sign” for the city.
“We look forward to continued conversations with the Fire and the community to make sure that this investment benefits local residents and our city as a whole,” Johnson said in a statement. “If the community is supportive, the Chicago Fire would be an excellent anchor tenant for the 78 site.”
Chicago is one of three U.S. cities hosting the Premier League’s Summer Series exhibition tournament, with AFC Bournemouth, Everton, Manchester United and West Ham United playing an evening doubleheader July 30 at Soldier Field.
In September, the Premier League soccer fan fest drew a record 15,646 attendees to Lincoln Park for a weekend early morning watch party, with 10 live matches broadcast al fresco on nine large-screen TVs.
Mansueto, who did not play soccer as a kid growing up in Munster, Indiana, became interested in the sport when his three kids took it up, learning it on the fly as their coach. He grew to love what is known as the “beautiful game,” which led him to buy the Chicago Fire.
“After I stepped down from my CEO role at Morningstar, I wanted to invest in my passions, and one of my passions was soccer,” Mansueto said. “And this one nicely aligned with an investment in a sport I was passionate about, and an investment in Chicago, which I’m very passionate about.”
As owner, Mansueto is focused on making the team more competitive. In October, the Fire hired Gregg Berhalter, the former coach of the U.S. Men’s National Team, as the new director of football and head coach.
Mansueto acknowledged that the team needs to “win some trophies” to engage more Chicago sports fans. But getting a new stadium, he said, would be an important step.
“I think the stadium will provide the catalyst to create that tipping point and really elevate the club and make the Chicago Fire and soccer popular.”
rchannick@chicagotribune.com