It’s a deal that’s been in negotiations for a few months, and a news item that we’ve known about since the spring, but today it was made official- the Chicago Fire Soccer Club is leaving suburban Bridgeview and moving back into the city.
The Chicago Fire Soccer Club club statement reads that the team and “Bridgeview have agreed to an amended stadium lease that includes a significant contribution from the Fire toward the development of a multi-sport recreation and entertainment center in Bridgeview and higher annual lease payments to the Village.”
Once again, there will actually be a “Chicago” in the name Chicago Fire Soccer Club, And with the state of Illinois poised to legalize sports gambling soon, you can make some online casino real money in betting on Major League Soccer, in the city limits. Sure, there are a couple establishments close to Seatgeek Stadium that feature slots and other casino games, but the entertainment options in close proximity to the current home of the Fire are quite limited. Now back downtown, there’s going to be a lot more for fans to do before and after home games.
The transaction will consist of the Chicago Fire paying $5 million to the village of Bridgeview for refurbishing and expanding the soccer facilities currently around the stadium. In terms of buying themselves out of the current lease, the Fire will pay $60.5 million over the remaining term of the lease (which is 15 years), including $10 million up front.
The team will continue training and operating Chicago Fire Youth development programs at the Bridgeview facility.
NEWS: Chicago Fire and the Village of Bridgeview have agreed to an amended stadium lease. Details ? #cf97https://t.co/vBI1vFmBjU
— Chicago Fire FC (@ChicagoFire) July 9, 2019
The 20,000 seat stadium, which opened in 2006, cost $95 million and was funded entirely by Bridgeview taxpayers. The stadium has been an economic boondoggle for the village, and a disaster for the village’s property tax-paying citizens.
The team will now move back to Soldier Field, where the club played 1998 to 2001 and again from 2003 to 2005. It is thought that this move is only temporary though, and that over the long term, the Major League Soccer club will get their own specific venue once again.
That is of course, another discussion for another time. Everyone seems to be happy with the current deal that was struck, as Bridgeview will now look to expand the slate of concerts that can be booked at the facility. MLS takes scheduling priority over music acts at the facility, but now the stadium will have more flexibility in this regard.
“SeatGeek Stadium will now have year-round availability for consistent high-revenue generating entertainment events for years to come,” reads a statement attributed to Bridgeview Mayor Steven Landek.
“Additionally, the expanded recreation venue will create even more growth opportunities for the Village. I’m extremely excited about the benefits this agreement will bring to our community and for the future of a sports team that all of us in Bridgeview and the region have come to love.”
There will be a media roundtable with Chicago Fire GM Nelson Rodriguez a week from tomorrow. I bet you can guess what topic 1 will be!
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net, which is partnered with News Now. Banks, the author of “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry,” regularly appears on WGN CLTV and co-hosts the “Let’s Get Weird, Sports” podcast on SB Nation.
You can follow Banks, a former writer for NBC Chicago.com and Chicago Tribune.com on Twitter here and his cat on Instagram at this link.