The field is a disgrace. It's time to start planning to get out of Bridgeview. How long does out commitment last? My dream is for Hauptman to sell the Fire, buy Chivas, and that our new owner will build a stadium in the city. Do we have 10 more years of the abysmal conditions that we have seen this season? I don'tmind driving to Bridgeview. It's easier to get to than Soldier Field, but if the field isn't kept up and there is no further development around it, then it's time to move. SF had a terrible field as well and Chicago did not make our stay there pleasant with many overlapping events making parking, etc., very difficult. But with the present situation, there has to be a better place to play and if we have to move back into SF temporarily, I'm for it. Seems as if Bridgeview's failure to maintain a playable pitch may give some room to break out lease.
Nice dream. I'm not sure how long the contract goes for but unless we get a billionaire new owner no one is going to build us a new stadium.
I believe we have a 30 year lease at TOYOTA Park, so we still have 21 years left and Dollar Menu isn't going anywhere. At least to all the expansion teams are finished joining the league, so we are stuck with him for min. of 4 or 5 years.
You are probably stuck there longer. MLS isn't in the position to break lease on a stadium that was financed with public funds. If you guys were to break your lease, there would be next to no chance you'd get public assistance for a new stadium and every other city that MLS was trying to get a stadium built in would point to it. The only way you guys break lease is if you get a deep pocketed owner who is willing to pay off the amount of money Bridgeview owes on the stadium.
The pitch used to be very good, if not pristine. This is a fixable problem. TP is a pretty good venue, albeit in decline. It just needs some minor, palliative updating. Sure, it would be nice if it wasn't set an industrial wasteland, the parking lot was paved, etc. but the stadium itself is decent. Far better to watch a match there, than some colossal football stadium. Even if the lease was up in a couple of years, no one's going to build a new stadium. Pipe dream. TP is the least of the Fire's problems.
We should have about 21 years left on the contract. And as bad as the field is, it could get worse. Awhile ago I heard that the boilers that heat the field were down. I haven't heard that they're been replaced by the village. We could be in real trouble in the spring.
I was saying we are stuck with Dollar Menu as our owner for a min. of 4 or 5 years, because he's not going to sell until all the expansion team are done coming into the league. Yes we aren't leaving TOYOTA Park, unless a new owner willing to buy out the city and build one in the city. TOYOTA Park isn't the problem, the problem is our non caring cheapass owner (Andrew "Dollar Menu" Hauptman).
There's no need to spend money to break the lease if Andy's lawyer buddies can find a breach of contract somewhere. Surely there's a loophole that can be exploited if so desired.
I doubt it will work. I don't doubt the turd has looked into breaking the lease or that countless sharks will line up to represent him, but for nought. And, if he's "successful" (after many years of litigation and a boatload of money), where does the club play? No public entity is going to ante up for Dollar Menu. Everyone knows that TP essentially bankrupted Bridgeview.
Neither Hauptman selling nor a new city stadium are going to happen within a decade. A city stadium in particular will never happen. The absolute best we can realistically hope for is that we can put enough pressure on the other MLS owners that they force McMeddler to raise his game, start pulling his own weight and put a middling amount of resources into the team so we can habitually finish somewhere between sixth and third place in the East rather than tenth and fifth as we will if Dollar Menu is left to his own devices.
TP is not the problem for the Fire. Least of our concerns right now. I would feel the same way regardless of where the Fire were playing.
Even if we got a billionaire owner and we didn't have the contract with Bridgeview the way billionaires get to be rich is not spending their own money. They get suckers to give them money.
But wait 3 big name DPs and the fire will be able to sell out (get Seattle type numbers) Soldiers Field right?
As they appear to only hold 80, we could easily sell it out. Not sure why we would be hosting something in Boston though.
And YET, there are still people who will buy season tickets, team merchandise, etc Things couldn't be better for the owner. He is in a win win situation. Decreasing his outlays while increasing revenue.
The absolute best we can realistically hope for is for the fans to realize that the field is not that bad and is being repaired from ok to excellent condition and that the fruits of the FO's labor pay off with a significant increase in attendance and local relevance.