Rumor is the the league (not Joe) bought out the lease. If so, does this mean Andi is still the majority owner? or The money he saved buying out Bridgeview, he could use to buy out Andi.
If any of this is true, and I am waiting for official confirmation or denial, the league would have to buy out the lease. The lease itself is with the league, not with the Fire. This was a major issue from the beginning. Any MLS game in the Chicago area has to be in Bridgeview. In 2017, MLS had to pay Bridgeview to have the All Star game at Soldier Field.
https://www.highpresssoccer.com/mistake-by-the-lake-sea-changes-afoot-for-chicago-fire/ Hauptman out next year!!
“We need a new stadium solution or a different stadium solution in Chicago,” MLS commissioner Don Garber told ESPNFC in February, grouping the Fire with stadium-challenged peers in New England and New York City. “Those are three of the top markets in the country and if they’re able to solve what are legacy stadium projects and move to the downtown urban core, I’m convinced that those teams in large cities will give the league even more wind in its sails.” Bridgeview is NOT what did in the Fire. Moving back downtown won't necessarily save it either
That is a well written article but provides no new information. It is a rehash of everything with the latest speculations tossed in for good measure. It is well written, though.
Hindsight is 20/20. I wonder if any of the MLS heads knew how Hauptman would run the Fire, in 2007 the league was barely into the shiny new SSS phase.
Basically everyone was excited about Hauptman, a young, rich, enthusiastic new owner. We were all taken in by him, including MLS.
I am so sick of hearing that Bridgeview is the reason for the ruin of the Chicago Fire brand. The ruin of the Fire brand has to do to two individuals, Andrew Hauptman and Nelson Rodriguez. Remove these two incompetent jack-asses and then work on rebuilding the Chicago Fire brand. The team does have a history of past success and excellence to build on. To throw that all in the dumpster is just total insanity!
Bridgeview is A reason, just like other reasons, but is not close to being THE reason. Agree with your post overall.
The evidence I always use to reinforce your argument is the great flaring of aught nine. TP was sold out and rocking. One of my favorite nights as a young adult.
2006 MLS man... AEG took whoever was willing to buy. In a city of rich assholes, all they could find was a b-list hollywood financier.
Don’t blame AEG too harshly. They hoisted the entire league on their shoulders during “the darkness” and carried us all through to the other side. We were orphaned by AEG, but not aborted. There is a significant difference.
Oh, trust me I've been around long enough to remember that MLS wouldn't exist without "Uncle Phil" who basically kept the entire league alive as a personal hobby. But when he started to sell off teams the league was in a very different place. At the end of 2006 when he was looking for buyers, the league's two most recent expansion teams were in Salt Lake and something called Chivas USA, and the former only really happened because Cleveland of all markets fell apart and they needed a second team somewhere, and the latter wasn't starting out so hot. People were also super skeptical of Toronto and the need to look north of the border for expansion. My point was more that I think AEG was just happy to have a buyer. They made a lot of noise about wanting local buyers, but MLS was a tougher sell back then.
Maybe this will change Andi's mind about getting USL team. Only bad thing is he'll never keep any of the players, because he wouldn't get compensated. https://www.mlssoccer.com/post/2019...g-compensation-claims-and-solidarity-payments