The Deep Dish: Home Sweet Home?
Where will the Fire play if the Bears get the new stadium.
FIRE: First thing’s first, last Saturday was a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad night for the Chicago Fire. One of so many over the past 15 years if we’re being honest. It was made worse by injuries hitting four midfielders. Brian Gutierrez and Xherdan Shaqiri (both hamstrings) are questionable for this Saturday against Atlanta United according to head coach Frank Klopas while Federico Navarro (knee) and Gaston Gimenez (hamstring) are set to miss at least 2-3 weeks. It is unknown when Maren Haile-Selassie (hamstring) or Tobias Salquist (concussion protocol) will be back in the lineup.
It goes without saying that the honeymoon for Joe Mansueto is over.. Of course, Georg Heitz and Sebastian Pelzer deserve a share of the fault as well. However, the buck ultimately lands on Mansueto. He needs to put in better personnel in the technical area and/or the soccer operations. If things go on the current trajectory, he’ll at least need to make a decision on Klopas.
As much as we have respect for Frank Klopas as a person and how much he loves Chicago and the Fire, this reporter cannot believe there were not more qualified people who could do a better job. Of note, should the Fire fail to get a win over Atlanta on Saturday (7:30pm CT, Apple TV), then they will be in a worse position than they were after last year (2-3-5) when they sacked Ezra Hendrickson.
RED STARS: It also goes without saying that Mallory Swanson makes the Red Stars significantly better. Her goal and assist against Seattle last Sunday gave the Red Stars as many wins as the White Sox at the time of this post. The Red Stars sit third in the table with a home match against Portland on Saturday (6:30pm CT, ION). So long as Mallory Swanson goes, so will the Red Stars.
ABOUT SOLDIER FIELD: On Wednesday, the Chicago Bears unveiled their plans for a new stadium just south of Soldier Field with hopes of a 2028 opening. The stadium would replace the Lakeside East building of McCormick Place and Soldier Field would be converted into a series of athletic fields while the colonnades would be preserved. The $3.2 billion domed stadium (along with an additional $1.4 billion in added infrastructure) meant to be a centerpiece with the intention of hosting Super Bowls, NCAA Final Fours, and other major events.
This reporter asked the Fire about the Bears’ plans as well as the current lease at Soldier Field and the performance center and received a response from Senior Manager of Brand Communications Jessica Braverman which follows in full:
“The Fire love playing at the historic Soldier Field and are committed to playing in Chicagoland for decades to come. However, while we have no imminent plans, the Club is paying close attention to the rapidly evolving stadium landscape here in Chicago. It’s obviously no secret the impact a new venue can have for a team, so we’re keeping an open mind about all available options.”
In terms of the Performance Center, the plan is to have our entire sporting operations, including First Team, CFII, and the Academy all based out of the Performance Center on the Near West Side. The exact move-in date will be confirmed at a later date.”
Braverman also said that the club had exercised another three-year option to play at Soldier Field.
CHICAGO FIRE II: CF2 defeated Carolina Core, 2-1, at SeatGeet Stadium on Monday on goals by Javier Casas, Jr. and Harold Osorio. The win puts CF2 in fourth place in the East at 2-0-3 with two wins in penalty shootouts for 11 points. Fire II next play on Sunday against Atlanta United II at SeatGeek Stadium in Bridgeview at 1pm CT.