The Chicago City Council approved plans Thursday for the Chicago Fire's new $650M stadium at The 78.
The 22,000-seat stadium is planned to serve as a long-awaited anchor for Related Midwest's megadevelopment and be privately financed by billionaire team owner Joe Mansueto, the founder of the financial data firm Morningstar. Construction is expected to begin by the end of the year, with the new stadium scheduled to open in spring 2028.
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A deal between Related and Mansueto would allow the Fire to buy almost 10 acres of land for the build-out, Block Club Chicago reported. Related Midwest would own and develop the land around the stadium.
The city's approval means Related Midwest has locked in an anchor tenant for the massive parcel stretching south from Roosevelt Road to 16th Street following a prolonged struggle to get the site off the ground.
Chicago Fire President of Business Operations Dave Baldwin said in a statement that the team is grateful for the city's approval and looks forward to the stadium serving as a "year-round sports and entertainment destination for the entire city."
"Beyond Chicago Fire matches, the stadium will attract global concerts and events, creating thousands of jobs, fueling economic growth, and driving new energy into the South Loop," Baldwin said.
The Fire’s private financing play is a relative rarity in modern stadium development. A 2020 Brookings Institution paper estimated that between 2000 and 2020, 43 out of 57 new or renovated sports stadiums in the U.S. were partially financed by tax-exempt municipal bonds.
Mansueto bought the team in 2019 in a deal valued at about $400M. He then spent $65M to move the team to Soldier Field from Bridgeview, but the club maintains that the venue has limitations necessitating a move, including having to work around the Chicago Bears' schedule.
"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," Mansueto said in a June letter to fans.
