Fire Break Ground on New Facility, Land English Radio Deal
CHICAGO, IL–On Tuesday, Chicago Fire FC owner Joe Mansueto joined Mayor Lori Lightfoot and other city dignitaries in breaking ground on the club’s new training facility on the city’s West Side.
The new facility will feature a 53,000 square-foot, two-story performance center, two-and-a-half hybrid grass pitches, and three synthetic turf pitches, providing a world-class training environment for the Fire’s professional and Academy players and staff. The hybrid grass pitches will feature a hydronic heating system, and an insulated dome will cover one of the turf pitches from November to March each year.
The new facility will be built on CHA land and, as part of a long-term lease agreement, the Fire will finance the development of the multi-million-dollar facility and provide an $8 million community investment to be used for the rehabilitation and preservation of nearby CHA housing and the creation of indoor and outdoor community spaces. Additionally, the Fire will provide long-term employment opportunities for community members, resources for minority and women-owned businesses, free sports programming for local youth, community green spaces, and more.
“The Chicago Fire is a top tier football club and the team and its players deserve a top tier training facility,” said Mayor Lightfoot. “I am also pleased that the Near West Side community will benefit from the job opportunities, recreational space, and housing support that CFFC has committed to providing as part of this development.”
This groundbreaking comes after an extensive public engagement process to discuss the proposal, including community meetings hosted or co-hosted by CHA, Department of Planning and Development (DPD), the Fire, and Alderman Jason Ervin. The Fire met directly with multiple community organizations during the planning process.
“We are thrilled to celebrate the groundbreaking of the Club’s new performance center, which is the result of years of dedication and collaboration with local residents, the City of Chicago, Chicago Housing Authority and other key partners,” said Chicago Fire FC Owner and Chairman Joe Mansueto. “This new performance center will strengthen our ability to recruit and develop the best talent at the professional and Academy levels. Moreover, this facility will serve as a community asset, offering valuable resources and opportunities that will benefit multiple generations of Chicagoans.”
There was some local opposition to the project, not only because the land set aside for housing is being used for a training facility for a sports team owned by a billionaire (which will be privately funded), but it leaves less space for housing in general.
“There’s a lot of people who need that housing. Yeah we don’t live here, but we’ve been here since June doing a lot of canvassing, talking to people. There’s a lot of people who weren’t aware of this deal,” Antwain Miller, with the Lugenia Burns Hope Center, told WLS-TV in Chicago.
“This is supposed to be for housing, not a training facility. We don’t need a training facility; we need more housing for the people,” said Claudia Galeno-Sanchez, with Working Family Solidarity.
The project is expected to be completed by Summer 2024.
While the Fire are establishing a much-needed facility in the city, the club is also at long last making their presence on English language radio. The Chicago Sun-Times reports that the Fire have entered a two-year agreement with WLS-AM 890 to air games in English starting with Saturday’s match against New York Red Bulls (7:30pm CT, Apple TV). Ten of the remaining 26 league matches will air on WLS or a sister Cumulus Media station (either WLS-FM 94.7 or WKQX-FM 101.1) with the remainder on wlsam.com. Fans watching the matches on Apple TV will have the option of choosing the local radio feed as they watch.
Max Thoma and Dasan Robinson will call the games. Thoma is in his fourth year as the play-by-play voice of the South Bend Cubs, and Robinson, an Evanston native, played six seasons for the Fire (2006-11). He also has called games for Chicago House AC, which plays in the Midwest Premier League. Max Anderson, who calls Illinois amateur hockey, will call select games.
The broadcasts will include 30-minute pregame and postgame shows. The agreement also includes a weekly one-minute spot on 890-AM to promote upcoming matches and to recap previous ones. Listeners of WLS-AM and -FM (94.7) and WKQX-FM (101.1) will hear about contests to win Fire tickets, merchandise and more according to the report. Fire President Dave Baldwin is set to announce the deal Wednesday on WLS-AM. The Fire will continue to air matches in Spanish on WRTO-AM 1200.