There’s a major league sports team that plays its home games at Soldier Field in Chicago. It wants to move to a new place. And it’s paying the full price on its own.
Via Sports Business Journal, the Chicago Fire of the MLS will build a $650 million stadium along the Chicago River. Team owner Joe Mansuetto will privately finance the facility.
The team announced the plan through full-page ads in the Chicago Tribune and the Chicago Sun-Times.
The stadium will be built within The 78, a 62-acre mixed-use development. The plan is to open the facility in 2028.
The development comes at a time when the Bears have been unable to get their own stadium plan off the ground, largely because they’ve been stymied in their effort to get public money.
With NFL franchise values skyrocketing, it could be getting harder to finagle taxpayer money. Having franchises in other sports pay for their own buildings won’t help reverse what could become a full-blown trend for NFL teams.