From Crains Chicago Business, January 26, 2017 Major League Soccer is returning to Soldier Field this summer. MLS officials will announce next week that the lakefront stadium and former home of the Chicago Fire will host the league's All-Star Game in early August, sources familiar with the deal confirmed. In addition to the game Aug. 2, the league is expected to lay out various free fan events downtown slated for the days leading up to the game, sources said. Details on those festivities remain under wraps, but last year's All-Star week events included free concerts, a 5K run and the MLS Homegrown Game. Another unknown for now is the format of the All-Star Game itself. The league has pitted its top players against an international club for the showcase since 2003, with the exception of a faceoff between stars of its two conferences in 2004. Regardless, it will be the first time in more than a decade that the league will hold the event in the Chicago area. The 2006 MLS All-Star Game between the league's top players and English Premier League Club Chelsea FC was played in Bridgeview at then-new Toyota Park, the Fire's home venue. The city and league were in talks as early as last summer about hosting the 2017 event, with MLS representatives visiting prospective sites for All-Star week festivities, Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events records show. League officials, who declined to comment on the All-Star Game, said in September that Chicago was one of "a number" of finalist cities to host the game. A Fire spokesman could not immediately be reached for comment. Chicago Sports Commission Executive Director Kara Bachman declined to comment on the status of the game. WIN FOR THE CITY, FIRE The All-Star week will add to a string of high-profile sporting events in the city this year, including the NCAA Frozen Four in April and the NHL Draft in June, both at the United Center. Those come on the heels of the city hosting the NFL Draft in back-to-back years and a 2016 America's Cup World Series race. Recruiting such events has been a priority for city tourism bureau Choose Chicago and the sports commission, which organizes bids to host them. Bringing the soccer spotlight to Chicago also could give the Fire a much-needed boost as it celebrates its 20th MLS season this year. Coming off of one of the worst three-year stretches by number of wins in league history and posting the worst record for two consecutive seasons, the franchise is in the midst of its latest soccer operations rebuild. But while it has had little success on the field, the team has drastically expanded its presence in the city through downtown advertising, a $20 million soccer facility in North Center and a program that subsidizes bus rides from city bars to Bridgeview for games. Those efforts will surely be magnified by the All-Star festivities. Soldier Field has been a hotbed for international soccer in recent years, hosting games for the CONCACAF Golf Cup, International Champions Cup, various exhibition matches and last year's Copa America Centenario. The Fire, who faced Manchester United in 2011 at Soldier Field, played their home games at the venue from their inception in 1998 through 2001 and again in 2004 and 2005 after the stadium's renovation.
Very mixed feelings about this. I detest any all-star game and am tempted to scalp tix, especially if they're playing Barcelona. Also, I hate going to NSF these days. OTOH, like a moth to the flame, I'll probably go anyways.
So, THAT is how the Fire will manage to have Nikolic placed on the All-Star team? Very sneaky. I hope this is a "bonus" game for our season tickets. That would be great. My tickets will be available...especially if they play Barcelona. There are only three or four teams that I would bother watching. If there is a sell out, I would happily let someone who really wants to see Barcelona smash the side from MLS and enjoy the day, and maybe turn a profit on the deal (although I would not really care about that).
Funny nothing has been posted yet on mls or fire sites. Wgn radio did also report this in their sports segment.
It would have to be mls against man utd, barcelona or real madrid to make it worth while to book soldier field.
Okay, here goes: Section 3.1 (b) of the Operating Agreement says that if the TEAM controls the venue, the games must be played at the Stadium. Per the Definitions section, TEAM means "MLS and Operator, acting pursuant to the Team Operating Agreement." -It is not limited to MLS games or Fire games. It is any game that the TEAM (MLS and the Fire) control the venue. The TEAM has to pay to the Village "the amount that the Village would have received from an international soccer game played at the Stadium based upon the historical average attendance figures for such an event." Section 3.2 (c) No competition. No Major League Soccer team in the Chicago Market Area (75 miles of Chicago) shall play its home games at any stadium other than the Stadium. Upshot: If MLS wants that game at Soldier Field, in front of 63,000 people, instead of in Bridgeview, MLS will have to pay Bridgeview the approximate revenue that Bridgeview would receive if the game was played at (former) Toyota Park.
Does this mean that the Fire will be sold shortly after the All Star game? Are they trying the same tactic on some other ownership group as they did on Andy by having in Chicago? Other than the 20th anniversary of the founding of CF97, I don't see how Chicago earned the right to host the event. Is their no stadium opening this year that could host it?
No the MLS has been using that and international games to get governments to pay for SSS. 824309172284063744 is not a valid tweet id
Other reasons: It has been 11 years since the Fire hosted the All-Star Game. It is centrally located and a fantastic venue. MLS has a very big opponent in mind (e.g., Barcelona). Chicago is so much better than hell holes like Atlanta. And, to quote you: Oh, let's hope so! They would be hard pressed to find another rube who would be taken in by a meaningless friendly that consisted primarily of fans of some international club team and not MLS or Fire fans and then an International tournament, again with nothing to do with the Fire. “It’s an interesting investment. I was not looking for a franchise to buy. It was not my goal. It was more about the opportunity. “I came to Chicago to watch the Fire play Cracovia. I was struck by a lot of things. John Guppy took me around. I don’t think he knew what I was there for. There were 16,000 fans and the stadium was pumping. A 12-year-old girl sang the national anthem. It was a very warm feeling. I left not sure about purchasing the Fire, but felt it was worth having a closer look. “Sunday I went to Soldier Field for the Gold Cup finals. It was an experience. The stadium was packed. It was a phenomenal game. The U.S. players proved themselves. I looked around and thought all these people are soccer fans in Chicago, where are they going to watch games? It was an eye opener. The Spanish TV ratings for that game were 40 percent higher than the Stanley Cup Finals. “I had one conversation and the deal was done. Six weeks later I owned this team and thought now what?” -Andrew Hauptman http://www.chicagolandsoccernews.com/article.php?article_id=4151 9 years later, and we ALL wondering "now what" since you still haven't figured that one out, Andrew.
So if Guillermois correct and it's Barcelona, what if Stoickov came back to play one half for MLS and one half for Barcelona? I mean, it would be more fun than a regular All Star Game, right?
Maybe a Barca legends vs. MLS legends game the night before the ASG? I would rather see that than the ASG.
This should be a good year to sell the team. I really think we have some good players this year and while we aren't the top tier of MLS, we definitely should be able to be a mid table club finishing fourth or fifth. If this lineup works, we would be 2-3 players away from being a real contender for a championship and this entire roster is paid for by the league. If you're interested in buying a team, that has to be appealing. It does seem odd that we would be the host based on who hosted previous years. Maybe they ARE getting Barcelona to play and they wanted a venue large enough to make the most of it and a location that is central for out of state travelers. Or maybe they show a potential owner the massive soccer market in Chicago and say if you buy the team, these are your potential customers. That would be great.
Thanks I can't believe that mls would pay that much to have game in chicago. I wonder if they are working with bridgeview to get an exception to the contract or pay less.
Well, it would only be the amount that Bridgeview would receive a single, international "sold out" (what are they?!?) game, plus concessions, not total revenue. We are not really talking about more than $100-200k or so. MLS will make that up with a few thousand tickets.