I will be in Chicago for business from 6/25-27. I have just found out that the Metrostars will be in town that weekend too. So I am looking to see if I can extend my 'business trip' one more day to catch this game. The beauty of it is the game is an early one, so I could still make it home with somewhat of a weekend left, without the wife being too upset. So not knowing much about Naperville, I have some questions for those more informed. 1) I am bringing a colleague who has played soccer all his life, but does not watch it on tv. I am hoping that this experience will at least open his eyes to the league. So my question is, what section should I try to get tickets for? I am sure I would enjoy the sections where the fans stand all game, but I am not sure he would. Are there sections close by that would still give the atmosphere I am hoping for? 2) Is there a big differnce with the crowds, between a day game and a night game? 3) Am I going to have a hard time getting tickets for this game? 4) Is it true that they don’t sell beer at the games? 5) Are there any cool places to go to before the game to grab a beer and burger? 6) How long of a drive can I expect from the hotel (downtown) to the stadium on game day? 7) Please tell me there is not some reason the top players would not be there that weekend (Gold Cup, Confed Cup or something). I am just so happy that this looks like it is going to work out!! Paul.
The stadium will be full capacity by then. You are going to want tickets in Section 9 which is General Admission surrounding Sect 8, the supporters section. You can stand or sit. Usually day games aren't so great because of the extreme heat. But it doesn't really matter. Should be (near) sellout either way. Not if you get them early enough. Very true. But luckily there are TONS of places to grab a cold one and some food before the game in downtown Naperville, just minutes walk to the stadium. 10 minutes. No quite sure about this one. But quite possibly. If so, we would be missing Beasley, Armas, Bocanegra and NY would likely be missing Mathis. Good luck, hope you are able to make it. If you have any other questions don't hesistate to ask. We'll also fill you in on parking.
Re: Re: Attending my first Fire - Naperville game. I think you're a little off. Paul, where is downtown? Downtown Chicago I would think. It depends on where you start from really and which roads you take.
Re: Re: Attending my first Fire - Naperville game. I think he meant from downtown chicago which would be about 45 minutes.
Wow, thanks for the quick replies. Yes, I meant downtown Chicago (Le Méridien on North Rush Street). So would 45 minutes still apply? So when I call for ticket ask for section 9 by name or are these like General Admission? I forgot to ask about parking, I thought I read somewhere that there is free parking within walking distance. Paul.
Strongly consider taking Metra. You can catch a commuter train downtown to a station about a 10 minute walk from the stadium. That way you can have as many beers as you want and not have to worry about driving, dealing with parking, etc.
A couple things: - I wouldn't recommend a match in Naperville as a person's first live pro soccer experience, but whatever. - GA is all section 8. There is no "section 9" this year. the entire northeast end is Section 8.
I understand, but I don't think I will be able to swing a business trip to LA's new place anytime soon. The way I look at it is, I'm just lucky that the stars aligned and I can go to a game. Paul.
Gee, nice way of scaring away new fans. Paul, the stadium is not the perfect place we want, but the crowd are all but on top of the action, making it a loud experience. On top of it, with Bob Bradley's first game back here since he left the Fire and (IIRC) a tribute to Peter Nowak planned for that day, should be a good day to come out. Bill Q.
Merely providing my opinion. Someone I know who hasn't followed the game for a real long time made his first trip to Naperville saturday and pretty much echoed my sentiments. I'd heartily encourage folks, if they went to one game this year, to wait till late-season till we go back to soldier field. But again, that's just me. well, and more than a few other people, apparently.
I sorta agree. It is not a very impressive event at all until they get the capacity up to 15K. (...Not that the 15K Cardinal Stadium is going to knock anyones socks off.) The smaller configurations look and feel like a High School football game.
We all know that Cardinal Stadium is not the ideal place for an MLS team to be playing -- for several reasons. However, it's not like Soldier Field was or will be all that great either. We can have an awesome sized crowd and there will still be 35,000 empty seats, and won't be as loud as the current situation (at full capacity). The grass will be far superior to the stuff they play on at NCC and the seats will be more comfortable. But it sure is cool seeing downtown Naperville overtaken by Fire fans on game days, plenty of good places to eat and drink, convenient access by both road and Metra, etc. Soldier Field is not nirvana.
Re: Re: Attending my first Fire - Naperville game. Yeah, well, he is going to be in town for that one weekend. In July. While the Fire are in Naperville. So pardon him if he has to go to NCC. Christ Liam.
Folks, Billy Billy Billy. Maybe when you guys sit in section 8 it seems like it is a loud place. I sit in section 105 in the main grandstand and I will tell you right now these people do not hard core cheering fans, stink!!! They really do!! I watch the people around me they chomp on hot dogs and talk about what they did that day not really paying attention to the game. This is definately not a Hockey fan type crowd. Once we get to Soldier field we will get more of the type of fans we all want.
It is still better than Naperville at full capacity. It is!!! If you say Naperville is better your not being honest or you havent been to a game in Soldier Field. I crowd of 15-20 in Soldier field has and always will blow away a crowd of 15k in Naperville!! I have been to almost every single home game in Fire history. Seing the town overtaken by Fire fans on game days has nothing to do with what is really important, fan atmosphere inside the stadium. Why you bring that point up I don't know. Your right, Soldier Field is not nirvana. It is however considerably better than Naperville. The atmosphere is better and we will making more money for the team than we currently do in Naperville. The team now has a 50-50 split on all revenues in the new stadium. I hope this all works out. We could make enough money where we don't need our own stadium. We could then concentrate on growing the fan base to a 25-30k avergage per game over the next 3 or 4 years and we won't have to worry about the stadium capacity.
Re: Re: Re: Attending my first Fire - Naperville game. Yeah, well, my comment was one for anyone who might be looking at this thread thinking of making the trip in to one specific game, and we've had a few threads like that. So pardon me if I'm trying to be helpful. Incidentally, I wasn't admonishing him at all. I simply said I wouldn't recommend a match in Naperville as a person's first live pro soccer experience. I don't think, essentially, you'd have to many arguments to the contrary. Some of you act like I'm telling him the Safeplay is covered in anthrax. Which it might be. I have no way of knowing.
Liam is right. The experience in Naperville is not that great. The soccer field is horrible (the players even agree), the fans get excited when there nachos come piping hot off the heat lamps not when the team is about to score.
Before you travel, check the BarnBurners website http://www.barnburners.com/ to see if there's going to be a tailgate before the game. They've had two already.
Is it possible to be OK with both SF and NVille? I must say, I find each place has it's pleasures. It'd be nice to find a Firehouse that can combine both. I have enjoyed watching games at Cardinal with a full crowd, and lots of people around me. I used to feel funny sometimes at SF when I'd stand to cheer a goal with the 12 or so people located around me, and dozens, maybe hundreds of empty seats. At the same time, I loved getting good seats to every game. I loved not buying my tickets till gameday. and I loved going into the city for games. Incidentally, I did find it true that even without being shoulder to shoulder with folks, SF was louder than a packed Cardinal. I don't know if the crowd was much louder, but with the cauldron effect, sound carried so much better. Section 8 could carry the stadium so much better. In NVille, noise just escapes the field, and even when section 8 makes a good racket, the rest of the field sounds really quiet. I hope the new SF can maintain the same accoustic effect, because if not, NSF may sound as dead as Cardinal. I don't think the fan base outside of section 8 has changed SO drastically as some of you might think. SF is certainly not nirvana. Naperville certainly has not been perfect. We will be leaving soon. It's my opinion that given the circumstances, it has served us quite well. It is a cozy downtown, and the area has a nice feel. All that being said, for the players and quality of play, I find it hard to think that anyone really would want to stay at Cardinal. Sigh... Someday, maybe we will have a our own Firehouse that has better field and atmosphere than both, and a surrounding area that is awsome. (although, I think finding a stadium that rivals a lakefront location might be tough.). I spent all this time trying to hash my own thought out because I get tired of the caustic arguing, and put downs. I think there is a reasonable middle road between two sides. Now, to keep this on topic. Come to NVille, bring your friend. Who cares if it sucks worse than SF or not. It'll be better than spending a day on the couch or in an airplane. And fans can get turned on to professional soccer,"even at Cardinal". I've brought several folks to games there, and they have all roundly enjoyed, dare I say, loved the experience. Come back later and visit when we are back at soldier. You will still enjoy and dare I predict love the experience. Go Fire!
Re: Is it possible to be OK with both SF and NVille? The new SF is supposed to be acoustically so much better than the old Sf because the seats will be closer to the field and rise up steeper and higher than the old spread out stands. The Bears have been talking how much louder the new Sf will be compared to the old stadium. I have enjoyed Naperville, mainly because of the downtown area. The worst thing about NCC is the artificial and small surface which hinders good play.
Wow. That's all new news. Naperville isn't the best place for this club. We ALL know that. Complaining about it won't make October come quicker. Yes the field is horrible, yes our players don't like it, yes the bleachers aren't up yet.....but until some of you fork over millions of dollars for a new stadium, deal with it and wait 'til October. It's not like Soldier Field is available. Make a new banner, sign up for Liam's yahoo group, volunteer with the Fire, some parents outside of Section 8 would like to see "floaters" and have people float to their section to lead a cheer (I'm not necessarily saying we should do this, but here's the article: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/soccer/us/news/2002/08/27/mls_burbs_sa/ ). There are lots of things you can do to make the stadium better rather than just complain ad nauseam. If Paul wanted information about coming to a game, help him out. Don't go on about how you "wouldn't recommend" a game in Naperville. Let him come and buy a ticket. It's his choice. Would you rather have all road games for two years while the stadium was being rebuilt like the Galaxy is doing now for 8 weeks?