Historic Day For The City: Chicago Fire FC Breaks Ground On Privately Funded Soccer Stadium At The 78

Chicago, March 03, 2026 — In a ceremony on the South Loop riverfront, Chicago Fire FC officially turned the first shovels of dirt on a $750 million, privately financed soccer stadium at The 78, hailing the moment as both a club milestone and a transformative civic investment.

Club Owner and Chairman Joe Mansueto, President of Business Operations Dave Baldwin, city officials, project partners, and neighborhood stakeholders gathered at the site to mark the start of construction on what will be the first major professional sports venue built in Chicago in more than three decades. The 22,000-seat, open-air facility, designed by global architecture firm Gensler, is scheduled to open ahead of the 2028 Major League Soccer season.

Mansueto, who assumed full ownership of the Fire in 2019, has now committed more than $1 billion to the franchise’s long-term transformation. In addition to the stadium, that figure includes the 2025 completion of the $100 million Endeavor Health Performance Center, record Academy funding, and a relocated front office in the landmark Wrigley Building downtown.

“This is a historic day for Chicago Fire FC and for the city we are proud to call home,” Mansueto told attendees. “This stadium is about investing in Chicago and creating a world-class home for our fans, players, and community.”

The venue will feature a natural-grass pitch, 360-degree sightlines, a purpose-built supporters’ section engineered for acoustic intensity, and premium hospitality areas intended to rival elite global arenas. Beyond MLS matches, the building will host international soccer fixtures, concerts, community gatherings, and other large-scale events year-round.

Anchoring The 78—a 62-acre mixed-use development master-planned by Related Midwest—the stadium will integrate public plazas, riverwalk access, and activated outdoor spaces designed to draw visitors on non-match days. Organizers project the project will generate significant construction and permanent employment opportunities across the South Loop.

Baldwin emphasized fan experience as the driving force behind every design choice. “From day one, our goal has been to create one of the best sports and entertainment experiences in North America—one that is authentic to Chicago and designed with our fans at the center,” he said. “Today is proof that we are delivering on that promise.”

Construction will be handled by a trio of Chicago firms—Pepper Construction, GMA Construction Group, and All Construction Group—under the oversight of Related Midwest. Fans and corporate partners can explore stadium plans, premium seating options, and interactive exhibits at the Dear Chicago Experience Center, a 9,000-square-foot showroom unveiled earlier this year inside the Fire’s Wrigley Building headquarters.

Once complete, the project will bookend a generation-long gap since Chicago last welcomed a new major-league sports facility, underscoring both MLS’s rising prominence and private capital’s willingness to bet on the city’s future.