News: Fire Moving to Soldier Field

Discussion in 'Chicago Fire' started by lncolnpk, Apr 2, 2019.

  1. Khan

    Khan Member+

    Mar 16, 2000
    On the road
    As I recall, the small capacity, and cramming a spaceship inside the colonnades were a suckup to the friends of the park @ssholes. Am I incorrect on this?

    Regardless, if the city wants a venue that's usable all year round, they need a dome now, whether the bears are tenants or not.
     
  2. juicecrewallstar

    Chicago Fire
    United States
    Mar 1, 2019
    I'm wrapping up my first season as a STH and we got in on the $25/seat special back when they announced the move -- tix were deferred twice on account of covid

    any speculation what a club seat might run me next season? does my ticket rep have any leeway for negotiation? we'll almost certainly return as STHs next year, but may move on from club seats if the price is rich.

    appreciate any insight!
     
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  3. Khan

    Khan Member+

    Mar 16, 2000
    On the road
    I think we're all in agreement on that.

    But hoping that they'll make NSF smaller, or uncovered is wishcasting. As a taxpayer, I want that thing booked 365 days a year and churning out revenue, not made smaller and less utilitarian.
     
  4. pena pirata

    pena pirata Member+

    Sep 28, 2013
    Batavia
    Club:
    Chicago Fire
    Just another thought; if the Bears do leave Soldier Field, what are the chances that the public gets behind a re-renovation without the Bears playing there? I just think the renderings and press conference was just to save face and tell the public that the mayor's office tried to appease the Bears.

    Now that this will be over with as soon as the Bears announce the actual move maybe the mayor can pay all of the traffic violations she has been racking up.
     
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  5. bunge

    bunge BigSoccer Supporter

    Oct 24, 2000
    I agree that the city needs a gigantic stadium to attract big events, but it always seemed smarter to move it closer to McCormick Place so it was connected to the convention center for access during bad weather. This would allow you to remove the UFO and downsize Soldier Field for all the municipal events we would ever need.
     
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  6. harrylee773

    harrylee773 Member+

    Jul 28, 2004
    Chicago
    Club:
    Chicago Fire
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Again, we're talking about a non-roof configuration here, which basically means the city is conceding Final Four/Super Bowl sized events to Arlington Heights by definition. In that configuration, reducing capacity isn't going to affect too many events that SF would be eligible for - some international friendlies or Gold Cup games maybe, but they'd still have to go up against AH for even those events and might not get them so it hardly seems worth it. In any non-roof config that doesn't reduce or increases capacity, we should be looking to have a way to do what Vancouver/Atlanta do to remove the empty upper decks from view, at the very least. Anyway, it is all probably moot because
    Yeah, the only way the city is investing anything once the Bears leave is probably going to be with some significant private partnership - e.g. Mansueto throwing some cash in with the taxpayer dollars to justify the expense. Roof, no roof, I doubt any of these renderings come close to happening unless a billionaire comes along and says 'I bought an NFL team yesterday and am moving it to Chicago' the minute the Bears announce their move. Absent that, the stadium will probably remain as is, with the Fire as primary tenants and some concerts, friendlies, college football and an occasional NHL game filling the calendar. I doubt Lightfoot will even be mayor anymore when the time comes to respond to the Bears leaving, tbh.
     
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  7. bunge

    bunge BigSoccer Supporter

    Oct 24, 2000
    Once the Bears announce they’re breaking the contract to move, kick them out to begin immediate (trivial and petty) “renovations” just so they have to scramble back to central Illinois and the billionaire family has to suffer some for treating the city so poorly.

    Then negotiate with Mansueto on the future.
     
  8. If the Bears can pay $84 million to get out of SF in 2026 maybe Mansueto can pay the Bears $120 million to take a hike by 2023. Hell, he already paid $65 million to get out of Bridgeview.

    Then the Fire can run ads like:
    The Chicago Fire - Chicago's only PROFESSIONAL football team.
     
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  9. Khan

    Khan Member+

    Mar 16, 2000
    On the road
    Understood you're talking the hypothetical "re-reno" without the roof. But:

    1. Without a roof, NSF won't get those types of events,
    2. Without those types of events, why do a "re-reno?"

    AH will happen, but I don't think it'll be as good as many believe it to be. Traffic will be a mind-fvkc on Euclid, NW Hwy, & 53 on game days.



    That aside, because of useless, worthless, incompetent and corrupt piece of shyte boomer Daley, doing a Private/public partnership is a tough sell, because that fvkcing criminal gave away the skyway and parking meters for pennies on the dollar.

    IOW I doubt that there's a way to make it politically viable, thanks to that useless piece of shyte.

    At the end of the day, its either the city goes all in with a ~70k+ domed venue to get big 10 tournaments/championships, Final 4s, and World Cup matches, or NSF is left as-is.

    I'm guessing it'll be the spaceship for awhile longer. (Fvkc, Daley fvkced that up. Dumb fvkcing boomer.)
     
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  10. xtomx

    xtomx Member+

    Chicago Fire
    Sep 6, 2001
    Northern Wisconsin, but not far from civilization
    Club:
    Chicago Fire
    Oh, come now, calling the Fire a PROFESSIONAL football team is a bit of a stretch now. Well, I guess the same could be said about the Bears.

    I am enjoying my vacation in Yellowstone. Saw Old Faithful and bunch of more impressive geysers, a herd of 100 bison and some great waterfalls.

    Hey, anyone want my tickets for Saturday?

    I will be in Montana at our second hot springs of the trip, with a brew pub a 5 minute walk from the springs.
     
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  11. xtomx

    xtomx Member+

    Chicago Fire
    Sep 6, 2001
    Northern Wisconsin, but not far from civilization
    Club:
    Chicago Fire
    #1561 xtomx, Jul 27, 2022
    Last edited: Jul 27, 2022
    Shit, when you wrote "AH will happen," I thought for a second that you meant Andrew Hauptman. I was going to say, "No f'n way!"
     
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  12. Mac97

    Mac97 Member+

    Jul 15, 2014
    Club:
    Chicago Fire
    Me too. That was just a bad flashback from the brown acid.
     
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  13. xtomx

    xtomx Member+

    Chicago Fire
    Sep 6, 2001
    Northern Wisconsin, but not far from civilization
    Club:
    Chicago Fire
    By the way, I have TWO sets of season tickets for Saturday's game.
    Bunge grabbed the first set! Excellent.

    So, first set is gone, the other is still available.

    PM me if interested.
     
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  14. Khan

    Khan Member+

    Mar 16, 2000
    On the road
    Thats fair; I haven't been around these parts for awhile. In my defense, I was following harrylee773 's nomenclature...

    BTW, is the new guy really any better than Andy hauptman?
     
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  15. xtomx

    xtomx Member+

    Chicago Fire
    Sep 6, 2001
    Northern Wisconsin, but not far from civilization
    Club:
    Chicago Fire
    Yes, Manseuto is much better than Hauptman. No comparison, except the same shyte results.
     
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  16. Khan

    Khan Member+

    Mar 16, 2000
    On the road
    Ok, I'm game:

    So, he took step one in the underpants gnome plan to improve the fire, which was to move to NSF.

    What else has he done to improve the product on the pitch?


    Also, back to thinking about NSF and a theoretical "re-reno," where would the city get the cash? They've only now gotten the bond rating just above junk status. (Thanks for the fiscal turds you launched, POS Daley.)

    At the same time, where are the Bears going to get ~$2B in cash to build a venue in Arlington Heights? They don't have it themselves, and I was reading that the NFL has set limits to franchises ability to incur debt. Oh, and Illinois has just got their bond rating above junk status; I cant fathom the state giving them any cash for this...

    Maybe "AH" won't happen after all?
     
  17. bunge

    bunge BigSoccer Supporter

    Oct 24, 2000
    On the field is a mixed bag. The money is there, which is Joe’s job, the signings haven’t all worked out, which is Heitz’s job. Firing Heitz will also be Joe’s job when and if necessary.
     
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  18. The NFL and the NFLPA kick in financing. A casino will pay to get in as will hotel developers. State/county/local will probably be on the hook for infrastructure. These bonds should sell like hotcakes.
     
  19. pena pirata

    pena pirata Member+

    Sep 28, 2013
    Batavia
    Club:
    Chicago Fire
    There will also be plenty of investors lined up to take part in a new stadium.
     
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  20. xtomx

    xtomx Member+

    Chicago Fire
    Sep 6, 2001
    Northern Wisconsin, but not far from civilization
    Club:
    Chicago Fire
    Probably.

    One would think so, but stadia generally don't make money in the long term. It is why so many are at least partially public funded.
    1. Teams threaten.
    2. Municipalities can take a long term loss.
    3. Investors generally will not.

    Done correctly, this could be an exception.

    If the Bears do it, the first thing they need is a guarantee of a Super Bowl in the first years. They should also bid on The Final Four and WrestleMania for the first couple of years.

    Get those events and investors will roll into the program.
     
  21. juicecrewallstar

    Chicago Fire
    United States
    Mar 1, 2019
    I’d be curious to see the numbers on this. Several fully privately funded stadiums and arenas announced in the last few years.

    I think cities are getting smarter about these things in general.
     
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  22. Khan

    Khan Member+

    Mar 16, 2000
    On the road
    The NFL will kick in some cash, but the players association would as well? Do you have a link on this? (I haven't heard or read that the players want to help owners get even richer.)

    Casinos still require licenses in Illinois, and while there should be a sports book associated with the venue itself, getting the casino isn't necessarily a given. Every single greasy politician in a 50 mile radius of AH will want their cut before that happens. Des Plaines and Elgin and Waukegan will also engage in fvckery to prevent a full fledged casino in Arlington Heights cutting into their market shares.


    And again, the state and county's bond ratings ain't great. The voters aren't exactly eager to create debt for a sports venue nowadays.


    All told, I don't think that this is as straightforward as perhaps we'd initially believed. Not saying it WON'T happen, just that it'll take some doing to happen.
     
  23. Khan

    Khan Member+

    Mar 16, 2000
    On the road
    As would I.

    Thinking about AEG's venue in LA, or Jerryworld in Dallas, both of those venues were undertaken by owners that had cash outside their sports franchises.

    By contrast, the McCaskeys have the Bears, and not much else to their names, compared to AEG or Jerry Jones. It'll be interesting to see how they pull this one off.
     
  24. The players get a percentage of the revenue pie. Any new stadium creates more revenue, therefore more money for the players. It's been part of recent collective bargaining. Instead of getting 60% of earnings, they get 47% of revenues. The owners can't create BS expenses like stadiums that end up in one of their other pockets instead of the players. There's links in this search:
    https://duckduckgo.com/?q="NFLPA"+stadium+financing&norw=1&t=ffsb&atb=v235-1&ia=web

    They'll work out something. It's too big a cash cow for it not to happen.


    Those are general revenue bonds ratings. They'll create some entity to issue stadium bonds with it's own revenue stream.


    See bold above.
     
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  25. GHjelm

    GHjelm Member+

    Apr 23, 2008
    Batavia
    Club:
    Chicago Fire
    Mansueto has invested a ton of money into the business side, something that should help with recruiting and general club health. I'm not sure he has all the right people in the important jobs, but things like exposure in the market and digitally on social media are fantastic.
     
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