Hi everyone, a friend and I are travelling around North America watching various MLS and other sports and we're coming to the July game v Vancouver. I have a few quick questions I'm hoping you can help us with. For this game is it likely to be possible to get tickets in Section 8 or the Party Deck on game day from the door, or would we have to pre book or get them from a scalper? Which of those two sections would you recommend for us to have the best time? What's the best pregame drinking option? Are there bars where fans gather before the game or is there tailgating? We're planning on doing the Cubs-Fire double that day/night, just curious are there likely to be many fans doing that? Again just curious, what section of the stadium do away fans usually get? Your help would be greatly appreciated, thanks!
Wrigley field is close to the Globe Pub. After the Cub game go to the Globe and take the bus to and from the Fire game. Make reservations with Jamie. (http://www.theglobepub.com/) Go to the Section8 site (http://www.section8chicago.com/) to arrange tickets. Should you choose to drive join us at the Fire House pub at 63rd and Harlem, 20 mins walk north of the game and free parking. Away fans are tucked away in the corner where they can be put on the pay-no-mind list. Dont bother. If Section 8 isnt to your taste during the game go upstairs. These are the best seats in the house for my meager $. The perty deck serves Miller products and closes at the 20min mark IIRC. Dont Bother. The bus will beer you up pre-game anyway. As an away fan we recommend you go die in a fire. As the opposition is from Cascadia the fire should originate in what you thought was an extinct volcano. Any old lahar will do.
Section 8 has expanded and is general admission meaning there is no assigned seats. The Fire hasn't been selling out games and other than NY/LA you don't need to worry about sell outs meaning there will be space. You can get tickets online or by walking up before the game. It should be about $25. I haven't taken the bus from the Globe, but if you are in Wrigleyville than that is your best option. Just walk a few blocks north from Wrigley until you hit Irving Park and take the bus west to the Globe. You can drink and take the bus from there. Most people show up at the game about 1 hour before to tailgate. S8 are some cool guys and are usually just grilling and drinking, just go introduce yourself and you'll be fine. There is a bus that goes to the Orange line, so you can take that to and from the game as well, but from the Northside it would be a trek. You would take the Red line south downtown and transfer at Roosevelt to the Orange Line. Take that to Midway and then grab the bus. From Wrigley you are probably looking at a 90 minute ride at least. The CTA offers a free phone app called Bus Tracker and Train Tracker, you can use that to know exactly when a bus is going to be there. Note, the bus you take from Midway to Toyota Park is not a CTA bus it is a Pace bus. And as far as your question about the Cubs game, I highly doubt many people would be going to both games just because they are pretty far away.
If you end up going for the party deck (much less atmosphere than Section 8 but still a very good option) make sure you get there as early as possible. The free food/drinks end in something ridiculous like the 15th minute of the game. If you plan to get there 60-90 mins before kickoff I would do pre-match and first half in the party deck, and then walk over to Section 8 for the second half.
If you're going to be in Wrigleyville, you'll want to catch the A.J. Husons bus. (formerly known as the Globe bus), the good news for you, it's closer to Wrigley. http://www.ajhudsonspublichouse.com/ Section 8 is for Fire supporters. The view from the Skyway is awesome.
Yeah appreciate that section 8 is the home supporter area, we'll certainly be supporting the Fire. So just confirming we can buy tickets in the party deck and still get into section 8 later? Thanks very much for all your help!
Just a quick note on the tourist-y tip: Taste of Chicago also runs from July 11th-15th...and I highly recommend it...and will be there for it...and the game...probably...but don't tell anybody...shhh.
That's awesome, had no idea that was on, only booked these dates because we wanted to see the Fire and Cubs games, will definitely have to check that out, thanks!