The Major League Soccer (MLS) team Chicago Fire FC billionaire Owner Joe Mansueto is an outlier among the Chicago sports moguls for his willingness to bankroll his own 22,000-seat, $750 million stadium on the long-dormant South Loop parcel known as ‘The 78’ in downtown Chicago (US).
The Coliseum Summit US will be held at the Wrigley Field, Chicago, from August 26th-27th, 2026.
‘chicago.suntimes.com’ stated that but there is a cost for the Chicago taxpayers: A $425 million tax increment financing (TIF) subsidy.
The Chicago Fire Football Club is an American professional soccer club based in Chicago (US). The club competes in the Major League Soccer (MLS) as a Member of the Eastern Conference.
The 62,500-seat Soldier Field (historically often referred to as the Soldiers’ Field) is a multipurpose stadium on the Near South Side of Chicago, Illinois, United States. It serves as the home facility of the Major League Soccer (MLS) team Chicago Fire FC.
‘The 78’
‘The 78’ is a massive 62-acre, $7 billion mixed-use urban development project in downtown Chicago (US) named to represent the city’s ambition of creating its 78th official neighborhood.
Drop the other Shoe
‘chicago.suntimes.com’ further stated that the Mayor of Chicago Brandon Johnson dropped the other shoe at the recent City Council meeting – by proposing the city subsidy needed to unlock the potential for the 62-acre site at Roosevelt Road and Clark Street that has eluded development for decades.
Tax Increment Financing
The roster of Tax Increment Financing (TIF – a public financing method used by the local Governments to fund the public infrastructure and the redevelopment projects in the designated areas)-eligible infrastructure projects includes construction of a 1,200-space underground parking garage that would be used for the soccer games, the concerts and the other stadium-related events and a platform for an open-air plaza and future high-rise development on the site.
Breakdown
The breakdown includes $216 million for the public structures, the plazas and the open space, $105 million for the road infrastructure along LaSalle, 13th, 14th and 15th streets, $12 million for the Clark Street improvements and another $12 million for a pedestrian connection on Clark, $34 million for the river wall improvements along the South branch of the Chicago River, $8 million for the Roosevelt Road improvements, and $36 million for the Metra improvements.
‘Substantial Reduction’
Developer Curt Bailey, head honcho of land owner Related Midwest, had promised a “substantial reduction” from the $450 million TIF district approved by the City Council eight years ago to bankroll the infrastructure needed to ready the site for development.
But the Mayor’s request is only $25 million less.
‘Engineering Conundrum’
That’s in part because of the underground parking garage that a city planner called a “creative solution to an engineering conundrum,” the 40-foot grade change between portions of the Roosevelt Road and the city-built Wells-Wentworth connector that already runs through the site – though it has never been used.
‘Vertical Development’
The Senior Mayoral Adviser Jason Lee said the garage will be owned and operated by the city. A management agreement that has yet to be negotiated with the Chicago Fire FC will determine the city’s share of parking revenues on game and concert days, he said – “‘The 78’ is a prime asset that has sat dormant for decades because it is disconnected from the surrounding street infrastructure. The garage is underneath a pedestrian platform that’s necessary to connect Roosevelt to the site. This is a necessary prerequisite to unlock that asset. It also creates a platform for future vertical development even on the structure itself which could include housing.”
Although the Chicago Fire FC will not be contributing to the cost of the underground garage, Lee said, “The city will be compensated for its parking – on gamedays and any other day.”
Johnson Perspective
Mayor Johnson argued that the $425 million subsidy was worth it to “develop a whole community” that will “create jobs and housing” and “generate revenue” for the social programs – “Why am I investing to invest more into people? That’s the hallmark of my administration. What’s happening right there, economically, right now? What has happened there for the last several decades? Nothing.”
Fire Statement
The Chicago Fire FC released a statement that describes the underground garage as a “separate element of Related Midwest’s broader development plan. The Fire will pay to lease the garage for our matches and the major events, similar to our current arrangement at the Soldier Field.”
‘Limited Access’
Marj Halperin of One Community Near South said she needs more information about the plan to handle vehicular and foot traffic at ‘The 78’ – particularly now that a proposed Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) Station at the site has been dropped –before concerned about the relatively limited access – especially from the West – because of the tracks and we have not seen a resolution to that issue yet. There’s supposed to be an entrance from the East that’s either a tunnel or a bridge and we don’t know yet how they’re going to resolve that question. And we’re concerned about the traffic on Roosevelt. Roosevelt is a bridge. It can’t easily be widened. There are already a lot of congestion and the sidewalks will be extremely crowded. They’re relying on a lot of patrons coming into the Roosevelt Train Station from the East. That’s going to be a lot of foot traffic and we don’t know how that will be handled.”
‘Seed Money’
As for the garage, Halperin questioned why the cost is not being shared by the city, the Related Midwest and Fire. She was not appeased by the promise that the garage will be used as a platform for future high-rise development – “I feel like we’re putting seed money as taxpayers into something that is not fully revealed to us. And if just ends up being only the stadium on that space then we’re subsidizing the stadium and that does not feel like the right thing for us to do. There’ve been no details about housing. We’ve been told they’re waiting to see what the market will support. … If there’s more to the development – high school, housing, other aspects – we should know about that before we sink that much money into the development.”
‘Biggest Disappointment’
Tina Feldstein, President of the Prairie District Neighborhood Alliance, said her biggest disappointment is the decision not to build a new Red Line Station at ‘The 78’ or open the Wells-Wentworth connector – “The rub is really about the train stop because if you’re going to bring that many people there they need to come in and out. It really needs to have a heightened sense of access. Where is that train? What happened to it? What happened to the Red Line stop? It’s going to be needed.”
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