A new 22,000-seat stadium for the Chicago Fire FC has taken a step forward after a key city panel voted to use $425 million in taxes to subsidize the project.
Chicago Business said city taxpayers will fund $425 million of infrastructure around Chicago Fire soccer team’s new South Loop stadium at The 78 after the developer behind the megaproject got the green light from the key city panel.
The Chicago Fire Football Club is an American professional soccer club based in Chicago (US). The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a Member of the Eastern Conference.
The club currently plays at the 62,500-seat Soldier Field, a multipurpose stadium on the Near South Side of Chicago, Illinois, United States.
A speaker from Chicago Fire will take center stage at the Coliseum Summit US which will take place at Wrigley Field in Chicago from August 26-27.
Chicago Business further stated that the subsidy will make it possible for owner Joe Mansueto to build the new $750 million stadium south of the Loop.
The Chicago Fire stadium us being privately financed even though it would not be reachable unless the city agrees to use taxpayer dollars to build the necessary infrastructure.
Mayor Brandon Johnson said he supports the infusion of taxpayer money to help breathe new life into a part of the city along the Chicago River north of Chinatown that has been vacant for 50 years.
Johnson said: “This neighborhood has sat dormant through multiple administrations, I activated it, and the type of impact it’s going to have, not just in the South Loop, but Bronzeville, Chinatown, this is exactly what the people of Chicago elected me to do, was to invest in them, create jobs and opportunities, generate revenue so that we can continue to make those critical investments.”
The City Council gave the stadium itself a green light in September, and Johnson celebrated the start of construction in March, indicating the City Council’s approval of the subsidy was a forgone conclusion.
The funds will be used to connect the stadium to the city’s street grid, repair the river wall and improve the Metra tracks that run through the site.
The money will also be used to fund a 1,200-space underground parking garage that the Fire will lease on game days, officials said.
A public plaza will be built on top of the garage, and six acres of parkland will be open to the public, according to the plans.
The American fast food restaurant chain McDonald’s and Chicago Fire FC in May entered into a historic naming rights partnership that will see the club’s new stadium named McDonald’s Park.
The new Chicago Fire stadium is all set to open in 2028.
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