A detail of the Apple TV logo on the kit of Chicago Fire FC during the first half against the CF … More
The Chicago Fire stole the MLS news cycle on Tuesday with the announcement of the league’s next soccer-specific stadium project.
The plan to build a $650 million, privately financed 22,000-seat venue at a tract of vacant downtown land long earmarked for redevelopment and known locally as “The 78” is intented to give the Fire a new, permanent home by the 2028 MLS season.
Of course, this will be the second such “permanent” venue the Fire have occupied. However, the suburban SeatGeek Stadum in Bridgeview, Ill., proved a difficult draw for the city’s largely urban fanbase. And after buying the club in 2019, Joe Mansueto paid to opt out of the lease on that facility to move the team back to downtown Soldier Field, whose primary tenant is the NFL’s Chicago Bears.
When Mansueto’s new stadium project is completed there will only be six MLS teams left who are not their venue’s primary tenant. (New York City FC is set to move into its new ground in Queens in 2027).
Here’s more about those six clubs, and whether they might eventually follow the Fire’s path.
New England Revolution
The Revs have played in Foxborough, Mass., throughout their existence as an MLS founding club, as the secondary tenant of two different stadiums built for the NFL’s New England Patriots. The Kraft family owns both teams, and for a considerable time did not express major interest in trying to relocate the MLS outfit.
That has changed in recent years, with a proposed plan to build a smaller soccer-specific venue in Everett, Mass., just a couple miles north of downtown Boston. But it still needs political approval, meaning for now the Revs remain at Gillette Stadium.
Vancouver Whitecaps
The FIFA World Cup Trophy is displayed at BC Place Stadium.
The Whitecaps are currently a secondary tenant in BC Place, which is also the home of the CFL’s BC Lions, and a public disclosure last year that the team is up for sale has prompted some fears of relocations.
Amid that backdrop, there have been ongoing discussions about building a soccer-specific venue at the city’s PNE Fairgrounds, where the MLS club once played in a temporary modular home while BC Place underwent renovations. But nothing formal has been announced.
Seattle Sounders
The Sounders are one of the league’s perennial attendance leaders, and as such, playing the 68,740-seat Lumen Field of the NFL’s Seattle Seahawks doesn’t provide atmosphere challenges that it might in some markets.
That said, the Sounders ownership is separate from that of the Seahawks. And the club has exlored building a permanent stadium at the site of their new training facility in Renton, Wash., a suburb about 10 miles south and west of downtown Seattle.
Atlanta United
Fans celebrate a goal scored by Julian Gressel of Atlanta United during the first half of the 2019 … More
The Five Striples have played at Mercedes-Benz Stadium since it opened, and while they are the secondary tenant behind the NFL’s Atlanta Falcons, the teams share the same owner, Arthur Blank.
As such, there are no active discussions to build a soccer-specific venue, nor a pressing financial need to assume control of stadium revenue since, effectively, the club already does. And as the league’s perennial attendance leader, the ability to play in an NFL-size venue has probably put Atlanta at a financial advantage.
Charlotte FC
The Crown are built in the same model as the Five Stripes, as a secondary tenant in the venue of an NFL team also controlled by the club owner, in this case David Tepper. And like Atlanta, they also appear unlikely to go on the search for a separate venue.
They’ve ranked second in attendance in each of their first three seasons in the league, behind Atlanta and in front of Seattle, making them another club for whom the extra seats at times can be a benefit.
San Diego FC
A view of the field during the 2023 NWSL Championship between the OL Reign and NJ/NY Gotham FC at … More
It’s difficult to know whether to include San Diego in this list, because while the newest MLS club is not the primary tenant of Snapdragon Stasdium, the venue was built with MLS in mind.
With roughly 35,000 seats, Snapdragon Stadium is only slightly larger than most MLS stadiums build specifically for their clubs. But the San Diego State football program is the venue’s primary operator.
