High-rise commercial buildings

Sub Markets

Property Sectors

Topics

Chicago & Midwest CRE News In Your Inbox.

Sign up for Connect emails to stay informed with CRE stories that are 150 words or less.

Chicago & Midwest  + South Side  + Retail  | 
Chicago Bears Hire JLL to Help Prep Plans for New Suburban Stadium

Soccer Franchise in Talks for Return to Soldier Field

The Chicago Fire soccer franchise, 49% owned by Joe Mansueto, is in talks with the Village of Bridgeview, IL to buy out its lease at SeatGeek Stadium in Bridgeview, ESPN reported. The lease runs through 2036.

The idea would be to return to Soldier Field in Chicago’s Near South Side for the 2020 season. The team last played there in 2005. The team is also considering a rebrand as the Chicago City Football Club.

For both the Fire and Bridgeview, the 20,000-seat SeatGeek Stadium, which opened in 2006 as Toyota Stadium, has proven to be a financial liability. Bloomberg reported in February that the village had about $260 million of general obligation debt, tied mainly to the stadium.

Attendance at Fire games has tended to rise and fall with the team’s success, according to ESPN. The venue is also not easily accessible from downtown Bridgeview.

Soldier Field, home of the Chicago Bears, has a seating capacity of 61,500.

Get Chicago News in 150 Words

For comments, questions or concerns, please contact Paul Bubny

Connect

Inside The Story

Read more at ESPN

About Paul Bubny

Paul Bubny serves as Senior Content Director for Connect Commercial Real Estate, a role to which he brings 16-plus years’ experience covering the commercial real estate industry and 30-plus years in business-to-business journalism. In this capacity, he oversees daily operations while also reporting on both local/regional markets and national trends, covering individual transactions across all property types, as well as delving into broader subject matter. He produces 7-10 daily news stories per day and works with the Connect team and clients to develop longer-form content, ranging from Q&As to thought-leadership pieces. Prior to joining Connect, Paul was Managing Editor for both Real Estate Forum and GlobeSt.com at American Lawyer Media, where he oversaw operations at both publications while also producing daily news and feature-length articles. His tenure in B2B publishing stretches back into the print era, and he has served as Editor in Chief on four national trade publications. Since 1999, Paul has volunteered as the newsletter editor of passenger rail advocacy groups (one national, one local).

  • ◦Lease
New call-to-action
New call-to-action