SOUTH LOOP — The Chicago Fire broke ground Tuesday on its future home at the site of The 78 megadevelopment — doing so a day after a coalition of neighbors gathered there to demand a community benefits agreement.
The Major League Soccer team’s owner, Dan Mansueto, and president Dan Baldwin were joined at Tuesday’s celebration by players, representatives from developer Related Midwest and public officials — including Mayor Brandon Johnson and Ald. Pat Dowell (3rd).
Officials say the new stadium, scheduled to be ready by 2028, will be the first new sporting stadium erected in Chicago in over 30 years. The $750 million, privately-funded venue will anchor an $8 billion dollar megadevelopment, and it will also be used to host concerts, high school state soccer tournaments and other off-season events.
“Today is a demonstration of what is possible when private investment is aligned with public goals for jobs, neighborhood activation and long term economic growth,” Johnson said Tuesday.
Mayor Brandon Johnson embraces Joe Mansueto, owner and chairman of Chicago Fire FC, during the groundbreaking ceremony for the Chicago Fire FC stadium at The 78 on March 3, 2026. Credit: Colin Boyle/Block Club Chicago
The mayor applauded Mansueto for his vision and determination to bring the project to life, adding that it will “help to build more vibrant, safer and affordable communities for the next generation.”
Part of the team’s commitment included a new $80 million “world class” training center on the Near West Side last year. The center includes two-and-a-half hybrid grass/turf pitches, three synthetic turf pitches, a 10,000-square-foot inflatable dome and a 56,000-square-foot performance center that houses the soccer club’s athletic and medical facilities.
Major League Soccer Commissioner Don Garber also lauded Mansueto for this efforts as he touched on the evolution of the league. Since the league’s founding 32 years ago, it has expanded to 27 teams, with cities like Boston, Miami and New York also set to open new stadiums in the next two years, Garber said.
“Hopefully, this is going to be an opportunity for this country to accelerate and show the world what we are when the World Cup comes here this summer, billions and billions of viewers are going to see what this soccer nation has been able to achieve,” he said.
A rendering of the Chicago Fire stadium inside The 78 mega development. Credit: Provided.
The 78 is seen after the groundbreaking ceremony for the Chicago Fire FC stadium on March 3, 2026. Credit: Colin Boyle/Block Club Chicago
Mansueto reflected on the team’s journey from playing in the southwest suburbs to Soldier Field and the challenges brought on by not having its own space. The owner said that by having its own stadium, the team will be able to have more control over its schedule and playing surface.
“I’ve often said Chicago is a world class city that deserves a world class soccer club,” Mansueto said.
While the new stadium has the blessing of Johnson and other elected officials, some neighbors feel they’ve been left out of the conversation. A coalition of community groups met on The 78 site Monday to call for a community benefits agreement to ensure they will have an opportunity to offer input during the construction process.
Neighbors have criticized a controversial deal between the city, the Chicago Housing Authority and the Chicago Fire that allowed land promised for new housing to be used for the Fire’s new training center site. For years, neighbors had pushed for former public housing residents to return to their former communities before they were razed by the city.
Ald. Pat Dowell (3rd) and Mayor Brandon Johnson mingle with Chicago Fire FC officials during the groundbreaking ceremony for the Chicago Fire FC stadium at The 78 on March 3, 2026. Credit: Colin Boyle/Block Club Chicago
Executive Director of the Coalition for a Better Chinese-American Community Grace Chan McKibben told Block Club they’ve consulted other neighborhood groups — including the Obama Community Benefits Agreement Coalition — for guidance. The group is still in the early stages of organizing but remains optimistic that they’ll be heard, Chan McKibben said.
“The stadium can be what it is, but we’re talking about all the development around it, all the jobs associated with it. If the Fire really wants to do this, they should want to be a partner with the city and with the residents,” Chan McKibben said.
When asked whether he supported a community benefits agreement, Johnson told reporters that the discussion was “ongoing.”
“Quite frankly, I’ve made it very clear, in order for these kind of investments to be realized, it has to have the community benefits of building more homes,” Johnson said. “This is a real good example when you have ownership that’s committed to the people of this city.”
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