BRIDGEVIEW, IL—The Chicago Fire and the Independent Supporters Association (ISA) that support them have reached an agreement for the latter to return to SeatGeek Stadium for home games this season.
“After several months of boycott against the Chicago Fire front office’s suspension policy, we look forward to returning to in-stadium support for the 2019 season. We encourage supporters to embody the values instilled in us as supporters of our club – Tradition, Honor, Passion,” said Nicole Hack, Chairperson Section 8 Chicago, in a statement.
Organized support by the ISA ceased in June after the Fire banned Sector Latino for what it called repeated violations of the Fans’ Code of Conduct and issued a blanket revocation of season tickets for holders in Section 101 of SeatGeek Stadium (neé Toyota Park). Fans protested during the July 21st match against Toronto by entering Section 101 and the club responded by suspending all supporters privileges. Organized support would not return to SeatGeek Stadium for the remainder of the season as well as the lasting image of Section 101 being covered with a tarp.
“Over the course of four productive and informative meetings during the offseason – where we saw a genuine spirit of cooperation – the Club and supporters have agreed on a path forward,” said Fire President and General Manager Nelson Rodriguez. “The focus will be combining our efforts in support of each other and ultimately giving our team home field advantage. I’d personally like to thank Nicole Hack, Marty Tomszak, Joel Piktel and the entire leadership of Section 8 for their desire to find common ground. Our players are looking forward to having loud and colorful sections at both ends of the stadium throughout the season.
While Section 101 was not mentioned by either the ISA or the club, Section 137 (behind the south goal and at the stage end has been designated as an additional Supporters’ Section for the 2019 season in addition to the Harlem End (Sections 117 and 118 behind the north goal). Away supporters will now be seated in Section 203 in the southwest corner of the ground.
The Fire and the ISA have also committed to jointly continue the Fire For Food initiative raising funds and awareness for the Greater Chicago Food Depository. The first opportunity for collaboration will see members of the Fire staff join members of the supporters’ community at the Food Depository during the week of March 4th, the week of the Fire’s home opener. Additional details will be announced in the coming weeks.
THOUGHTS: This agreement was sorely needed before the start of the season. On its day, the atmosphere at SeatGeek Stadium is one of the best in Major League Soccer. That day was not there in 2018 and looked very bad both the Fire and MLS. Away supporters will remain a distance from the Harlem End and that is a positive.
Hopefully, there will be no more further incidents like there were last season and there will be lasting peace between the club and the supporters.
