All they did was cut the grass, if they made an attempt they would have painted the lines, numbers and logo's green. We all know they are good at spray painting.
Chicago Fire, Park District near deal on Soldier Field lease, sources say https://chicago.suntimes.com/news/2019/9/9/20857816/chicago-fire-park-district-soldier-field-lease I warned you all:
So if we build a SSS before 2030 season, then we will have to buy out another lease, but somehow I think we will be stuck their for the entire lease (2020-2029).
I recall the whiney Bears blaming the Fire in 98 or 99 for some of their losses due to the field being shared. Get ready for more bitching Bears blaming more losses on the Fire.
Yes, but... "However, another source at the agency said the agreement would cover 10 years. The source said financial terms are still under discussion, but could include annual rent of $500,000 to $1 million, depending on whether attendance benchmarks are reached." That is pretty cheap to buy out if required. Paying $1,000,000 a year to rent Soldier Field for 20 or so games is not that bad. That works out to about $2.50 per person per game (based on 20,000 average). Of course, what really matters are the percentage cuts of: tickets luxury boxes concessions parking etc. Those were what screwed the Fire last time. As I understand it, the City did not give the Fire much of a cut of any of that money. I think the Fire are in a better negotiating position this time around.
Yeah all that demand done by 180 lb players that use the entire field vs. 300+ lb players that use the middle of the field.
That would be in the range what the Fire were paying twenty years ago . I seem to remember peter wilt stating the fire payed 50k + security.
[ Even so, If the Fire are being charged sub-$1M/season, that's not terrible. Metrostars were paying like a quarter mil a game at the Meadowlands IIRC Edit: I should clarify that assumes that 1M is a static number and not increasing by a percentage a year, but the recently voided lease at SeatGeek actually grew to above 1 Million in the last 8-10 years of the lease if I remember it right.
The League itself is on much, much better footing. When they negotiated the first lease, MLS was a fledgling, 2 year old, essentially a sporting "toddler." The league has grown, prospered and has a two decade plus track record of success (still short in sporting time, admittedly). The team has a 49% "owner-operator" who has deep ties to Chicago, is an actual Chicago billionaire and, presumably, some "pull" in the Chicago business community. The team has sought out Soldier Field, after the perceived debacle of Bridgeview. In 1997, the Fire had no alternative but Soldier Field. There is a new mayoral administration, without the deeps, ingrained ties of the Daley "machine." It is a reasonable presumption that this should be favorable to the Fire. It is conceivable that the new administration would like to make a deal that will further utilize Soldier Field and bring additional exposure to the City (if, of course, the Fire manage to get their heads unstuck and have games televised and promoted).
Yes, $50,000 a game was what I heard, but no cut of any ancillary revenue. Exactly, and adjusted for inflation and adjusted (hopefully) for better attendance, it is significantly cheaper. Adjusted for inflation, $50,000 in 1997 would be about $78,000 today.
Oh, and the S-T article is the first time I think I've seen the Michael Reese site SSS rumor in print of a major publication. I'm not a fan at all unless the city/state builds that rumored Orange Line spur.
This. They are shit tons of money to get our of Bridgeview. They have nowhere else to go. Not Evanston. Nowhere else, they (Fire) have zero leverage. In fact their move would anger the primary tenants of the venue. The Fire (like always) are in a shitty position.
Couple questions: How do we know that Joe actually cares? Has he come out in public to say anything? How do we exactly know he isn't another Andy? All I have seen is rumor. How does "The team has sought out Soldier Field, after the perceived debacle of Bridgeview. In 1997, the Fire had no alternative but Soldier Field." give them leverage? Wouldn't it give CPD more leverage? What are their alternatives to Soldier Field that has given them leverage? Can the Fire tell CPD "we don't like the terms so we are going to play here instead"? "It is conceivable that the new administration would like to make a deal that will further utilize Soldier Field and bring additional exposure to the City" Doesn't having more big time concerts make more sense? Wouldn't it be better for the City to utilize Soldier Field for concerts like Taylor Swift, Dave Matthews, Rolling Stones, etc. on Saturday nights during the summer?
As someone who has the joys of commuting home in Ed Sheeran/Taylor Swift traffic, I can tell you SF concerts aren't usually limited to the weekends.
First, let me say that I am trying to paint the most optimistic picture I can. After the crap we have endured for a decade, I choose to look at the changes as potential major positives for the Fire. Of course, I can be (and probably am) wrong. 1. No we don't specifically, but he is a very smart business man (unlike, say, Andrew Hauptman). I do not think that he would plunk down all of this money to buy into the team and then his giant share of the Bridgeview buy-out without a longer term vision in mind. That has not been MO in his career, as far as I have ascertained. 2. No, the Fire did not need to buy out Bridgeview. They must have done it with a reason in mind. I cannot believe that Manseuto would be a large part of the buy out of Bridgeview if the move to Soldier Field was not far along. Also, as mentioned, the league is a better place and the Fire have uber rich AND local ownership now, which they did not have in 1997 or 2006. 3. Those are one off deals and there are only 3-5 concerts per year*. Also, the Park District is fighting against LiveNation which now owns the thing in Tinley Park (don't know and don't care about its current name), which artificially limits access to Soldier Field. When the Fire were first there (1998-2000, 2003- Summer, 2006), this was the complete list of concerts at Soldier Field: Dave Matthews Band – Summer 2000 Tour, June 29th & 30th, 2000 'N Sync – PopOdyssey, June 16th & 17th, 2001 Dave Matthews Band - Summer 2001 Tour, July 6th & 7th, 2001 Bon Jovi – Have a Nice Day Tour, July 21st, 2006 There are a few more each year now, but nothing of major concern. Having the Fire there has no bearing on hosting concerts, except for scheduling, the Fire will have a further reduced number of nights available. *https://soldierfield.net/event-history
Is this fact? Did he buy out the lease? Because as far as I can tell he is still a silent owner. I know you are trying to paint an optimistic picture and I give you credit for that. Its just that most of what people are saying there is no proof of it. That is why I question it.
That was a bit of bad editing on my part: "...Manseuto would buy out Bridgeview" was not my intent. "...Manseuto would be a large part of the buy out of Bridgeview" was what I originally typed. Not sure how or why I rewrote that. Thank you for catching that. Fixed my post. I know a bit more about Joe Manseuto's interest in the Fire than I can say, but I largely agree that much of what we write is assumption. What I do know and can say is that he and the league have the money, Hauptman does not. He was a large part of the buy-out. And you should question it. We should ALL question it. There were so many rumors and so much misinformation about the Bridgeview deal when it happened, which is why I did a FOIA to obtain the entire agreement. I am thinking about doing a FOIA to obtain the buy-out agreement.