Starting in 2019, the Chicago Fire and Red Stars will be playing in SeatGeek Stadium (photo credit: Don MacGregor)
After 13 seasons, the Chicago Fire’s stadium in Bridgeview will get a new name. Starting next season, say hello to SeatGeek Stadium at 71st and Harlem after the Village of Bridgeview—the owners of the stadium—reached a deal with the online ticket broker. The deal takes effect after the final match of the 2018 season for the Fire.
The Village had a 10-year naming rights deal with Toyota in 2006, but the venue has continued to be named Toyota Park after the deal expired with the Village and the club receiving no money for the naming rights since 2016.
“We’re thrilled to align ourselves with SeatGeek as our new naming rights partner,” said Village of Bridgeview Mayor Steven Landek. “We’re excited about SeatGeek making a meaningful and long-term investment in the stadium and our community.”
Already home of the Fire and Red Stars, the Village of Bridgeview and SeatGeek will work together to bring more live programming to the venue, including premier concerts, music festivals and international sporting events, with assistance from new venue management partner Spectra.
“Throughout the years our Club – and most importantly our fans – have helped create memorable moments at this stadium,” said John Urban, COO of Chicago Fire Soccer Club. “We look forward to having SeatGeek add to our home-field advantage.”
Bridgeview has been attempting to refurbish the area surrounding the stadium, such as building a 109-room Hampton Inn and Suites at SeatGeek Stadium and a mixed-use retail center featuring fast-casual restaurants and a variety of other businesses according to the press release from SeatGeek. As of now, there is just a Shell station and a sports dome for the Fire to practice indoors at the moment.
The new naming rights partnership was orchestrated by W Partners, a sales and marketing firm funded by the Ricketts family, who owns the Chicago Cubs.
Bloomberg estimated the deal to be between $2.5 and $4 million per year according to ESPN.
THOUGHTS: Cross off one pain point for the Fire in regards to a new naming rights deal thanks to the Village of Bridgeview who finally got something done. While it is a nice stadium, if the team is not winning, fans are not going to go out of their way to come to Bridgeview. While Toyota Park (soon to be SeatGeek Stadium) was built in a time when MLS was happy to have their teams playing in soccer-specific stadia (read before Seattle Sounders FC came to MLS), it is clear that stadiums in the city have become more fashionable these days. Absent a suitable replacement in the city, new or otherwise, the best way the Fire can attract fans to come to Bridgeview, no matter what the stadium is called, is to start winning again.
Chicago Fire
Chicago Red Stars
