Toyota Park is far from ideal, but it takes way too much of the blame away from the people who truly deserve it. For example: This was Toyota Park.
TP- err - Bridgview Stadium is fine because it's not the problem. The team is the problem. People complain about it not being in the city, but no one really cares if it's in the city or not if the team is good. The team is bad, why not blame it on the location? It's the owner and the general level of play that scare people away, not the fact that it's in Bridgeview. /discussion
Do the newer fans even know how many people showed up at Toyota Park just for his welcome press conference? I mean it was announced in the afternoon the day of and something like 5000 (I honestly don't remember the exact number) people showed up.
Some of the "newer" fans that follow this team are insufferable and makes me miss the hardcore, intelligent and educated fans we had back in the day.
What's the story on this? Everyone continues to call it Toyota Park (including the Fire twitter as recently as a week ago). When does that sponsorship actually end?
So much love for this picture. I also have a little love for this shot my son took at the 2010 Fire-Red Bulls match (yes, the Nery Castillo debut). He was 12.
No one knows at this point. It'll probably end up like the Cell. It's got a new name, but no one cares.
The first picture was my favorite experience at a game, ever. In the video version of that picture, you can see a 24 year old me waving a huge flag in beautiful figure 8s, drunk off my ass.
The naming rights deal expired as of 1/1/2016. Toyota said they could continue using the name, but are not paying them any money to do so. Apparently this is preferable to the idea of having to rename it to Bridgeview Stadium or something else. Please count me in the group that thinks the stadium isn't the problem. As someone that lives in the city, it's not ideal, but the issue is the shitty ass way this club has been run for the better part of the last decade. The place had regular sellouts with Blanco and when the team was winning. The stadium is a convenient excuse that I hate hearing. The Fire didn't pay for the ********ing thing! Make the situation work.
So let me get this straight, AH/NR have been missing out on stadium sponsorship money for over a year now? Now that is actually shocking. What a complete shit-show this organization is...
It goes back to the whole ROI. The Fire have been shit for so long that no one wants to pay the amount a stadium rights deal costs to be associated with them. They would probably argue (privately) that they don't want to do a new deal because they're trying to move to the city.
Great deal for Toyota though. Contract expires and they still get free advertising because Hauptman and Co. are too ********ing cheap to paint the roof.
TP is fine the only issue I have is no public transportation. But otherwise it's fine, it s a nice place, not too big. If the Fire can stay above the redline this whole year we have a season, and TP will likely sell out or high attendance. Results results results are the only thing that matter this season.
Are they counting residents of Bridgeview in the attendance numbers now? It's going to be nowhere near this.