Chicago has a new deal with Soldier Field that will add $3 million a year to that team's bottom line. As reported here: http://sports.yahoo.com/mls/news/20021018/garberfeature.html
The reason we'll never have a Firehouse within Chicago city limits can be summed up in one word: Daley.
Give me a break Joe, I cant stand Daley.He is a meglomaniac,and a crook.But blaming him solely for Fire stadium woes is idiotic.He is definitly part of the problem.But the blame also Lies with Anschutz and his cronies.They are more concerned with the coast teams.If he was really concerned about the Fire (which he is obviously not) he would hire a Professional team to come in and find a place for the Fire to build.
If AEG didn't even exist, Daley would still nix any stadium deal for the reasons I've listed in the anti-Wilt thread.
You're on drugs. If AEG never even existed, Daley would still nix any Firehouse in city limts because: 1) He needs to pay the bills for turning Soldier Field into America's Most Hideous Stadium. 2) Any land that would make sense for a Firehouse is FAR to valuable as yuppie condos to the real estate barons who pull Daley's strings. There two things alone would nix any Firehouse in city limits. Then there's AEG's stated desire to use any Firehouse for other events like concerts. This threatens Chicago's current promoters and they'll spend big $$$ to keep a Firehouse from happening unless they get favored deals on concerts there once it gets built. But it will never come to that because Daley won't approve a Firehouse within city limits in the first place.
The blame lies entirely with economics. AEG recognized that they will do better playing a stadium the public is building than by spending a lot of money building their own. Daley recognized that the city couldn't afford to build a stadium that would be used 15 times a year, but they could afford it at 35 times a year. Fans go anyway. If there were some real reason to believe that 10,000 more people per game would attend at a soccer-specific stadium, then Anschutz would be more willing to spend more money to build one. But there's no reason to believe that. This is a good deal for us and the city. The AH sideshow was a nice distraction, because it helped us bargain with the Park District (probably with Ed Bedore, if anyone cares.) It helped us get good terms. Bottom line, the reason the Fire will be in SF is that it is the best place for them financially.
That's a bit extreme. You may not like anything he's done as an elected official, but come on! That's indictable.
JP, I'd guess the Fire will stay in Soldier Field for 3-4 years. By that time, AEG will have completed several stadium projects in the works and have the personnel in the organization available to take on a Firehouse project. Yeah, Rich Daley could still refuse to let the Fire build in Chicago. But by that time, the Fire's following will be large enough that loss of them from Chicago will have a noticable economic impact on the city including the revenue and business generated by using the sss as a concert venue. In one sense, the Naperville experience will strengthen the Fire's hand in dealing with Daley. They have proved to be an attractive team to have in any community. Given a suitable location could be found to build a stadium, I'm sure Naperville would love to have the Fire and the Firehouse there on a permanent basis. Let's see how strong Daley sticks to his guns when the Fire starts serious discussions about relocating to the Republican stronghold DuPage county where his political clout is a lot less. Given the real alternatives of losing the Fire to the suburbs or letting them build their own sss in Chicago, it becomes a lot easier to opt for a sss.