On the bright side for Bridgeview, the USL team could move there since the stadium plan for that team fell apart and they lost the ownership stake last month. That way, it's not a waste of a venue. On the not-so-bright side, attendance might still be an issue for that team.
For an "uneducated guess", it makes a lot of intuitive sense. None of us knows what's actually taking place, of course, but I wouldn't bet against it.
I tracked down the man who works for Metra and helped the Fire get their Naperville train going. Metra was ready to attempt a train from Union Station to Summit. Buses would still be needed from there to Toyota Park but it would be a first step to getting a train all the way to those tracks along the parking lot. $4k to run a train. $5k if the crew went into overtime. Ultimately if it were successful Metra would run it as a regular train. The Fire wouldn’t spend any money to give it a try. Just consider 10 games and $50k as advertising and if it failed, move on. But just word of a train would have turned heads, even if it weren’t perfect to start.
Well, I'm just glad that idea existed, because I've been thinking that in my head for a decade. It kinda goes to show that the endless debate about whether it's Hauptman's fault or Bridgeview's fault misses the ways in which an owner that cared could have made Bridgeview itself more favorable.
Exactly. I've been thinking about this: Doesn't it just seem like Bridgeview/the Stadium/the name have been made to be scapegoats for Hauptman and Rodriguez's failures since these are the things that preceded them? I can just imagine the conversations with MLS HQ pointing the finger at decisions made before they arrived as the reasons for their failings.
The Fire would have paid for the train but would collect the revenue for ticket sales. So theoretically they could sell 400-500 $10 round trip tickets and break even on the deal. They had no spine.
Would a train to Summit with a shuttle down Harlem have honestly been any better an option than taking Orange to Midway and the Toyota Park Express bus?
It absolutely would have raised eyebrows in a way the Orange Line did not and the potential to extend the train to the West Lot of Toyota Park would have taken the plan to the next level. Remember: bars at Union Station and drinking on the train. It’s a completely different option. It wouldn’t have been perfect to start but city dwellers could plan around the inconveniences much more easily than the CTA method. The tracks from the Summit stop connect directly to the West Lot. Two different railroads but connected by a switch. We had ten plus years to try. And even if we tried and it failed, we’d have at least tried and would have more data pointing to “move or die”.
Pretty sure it still is based on Pace's website last time I looked. I was going to try to use it for the first time ever this season, just to see how it compared to driving, but I guess it's a moot point for the long term.
The CTA works, but it’s a bitch if you’ve got to take a leak. Also, the shuttle from Summit would most likely have taken the back route on Archer/Roberts Road/71st. The Mayor/Senator could probably get a bus lane for most of that route on game days.
Thanks. Fire website was still calling it the Toyota Stadium shuttle. Didn't realize it was a Pace-run service. May give it a try for the NYCFC game
That's the way I usually enter the stadium. It's less of a pain than Harlem as long as you go past the left turn at 71st and pull a U so you're not waiting 4+ light cycles to turn.
I don’t know of many “Bridgeview apologists” around here but one of the realities we need to discuss is that soccer at Soldier Field can be awful. And while the location is way more convenient for me personally, I’m hesitant to embrace a worse stadium experience for an overall better location. As a long term solution Soldier Field a very mixed bag. The move is to help rich white people feel more comfortable going to a game. It is in part an attack on the demographics of the club. That element is disheartening.
This. Living down here in God's Country, it's about the same distance for me to either venue. But comparing the atmosphere/experience between the two, and it's Bridgeview hands down for me. Given the choice of watching the game at Soldier Field or watching on the TV, I'll take the TV. YMMV.