As City Council members prepare to vote on Chicago Fire FC owner Joe Mansueto’s plan to build a $650 million soccer stadium in the South Loop, many nearby residents are giving it a thumbs-up — with a few caveats.
An online survey of 653 South Loop residents conducted in recent weeks by the South Loop Neighbors community group found 73% of respondents said they were “supportive” and nearly half were “strongly supportive” of the Major League Soccer team’s proposal, the neighborhood group said in a statement, while about 10% of respondents were opposed.
The results come a couple of months after the Fire unveiled their vision for a privately funded, 22,000-seat venue to anchor an $8 billion mixed-use campus at The 78, a 62-acre vacant swath controlled by developer Related Midwest along the Chicago River between Roosevelt Road and Chinatown.
Respondents to the South Loop Neighbors survey — about three-quarters of whom were homeowners in the area rather than renters, the group said — generally praised the stadium plan for its design and vision for new public space and amenities, such as a riverwalk extension.
Ald. Pat Dowell, whose 3rd Ward includes The 78 property, said in an interview with Crain’s today that the survey results “mirror the feedback” she has received in meetings with local community groups about the plan over the last few weeks.
“There are still some details that need to be worked out related to pedestrian access from the southern end of the site and real clarity on traffic impacts,” Dowell said. “But beyond those two items — and also people wanting clarity on how TIF dollars are going to be used — this seems to be a very well-received proposal.”
Dowell said she has more community meetings about the proposal scheduled for later this month, which will lead up to a larger town hall-style meeting for residents to share concerns directly with the developer and team and hear their responses. She is also coordinating a community meeting with 11th Ward Ald. Nicole Lee, whose Chinatown residents recently aired their worries in a community meeting about what the stadium and other development at The 78 might mean for future affordability in their neighborhood.
“The concerns that they’re raising can be addressed, but I need to hear more about those concerns specifically,” Dowell said.
South Loop Neighbors President Jim Wales said in a statement his community group is “looking forward to ironing out the concerns to make this development an asset to the city and neighborhood.”
Related Midwest and city planning officials are still negotiating terms of a revised redevelopment agreement, or RDA, that would govern the use of TIF money for infrastructure at The 78. The original deal inked in 2019 called for as much as $551 million in infrastructure projects that Related would finance up front and be reimbursed for using future property tax gains generated by the site.
Related said in June the new dollar figure will be lower than that because some big line items won’t be needed under the stadium plan, including the $364 million CTA station and an $85 million realignment of Metra tracks running through the site.
The South Loop Neighbors feedback “means a great deal to us, as we have worked hard to form a plan that delivers lasting benefits for the community,” Related Midwest President Curt Bailey said in a statement to Crain’s. “In partnership with the Chicago Fire, we are committed to making The 78 the best it can be, and we know that happens by listening to and working closely with our neighbors every step of the way.”
Mansueto, the billionaire founder of credit ratings agency Morningstar, struck a deal with Related earlier this year to buy nearly 10 acres of The 78 from the developer on which he would privately finance the stadium. The venue is pitched as the anchor of a sports and entertainment district on the site that could boost spending and foot traffic downtown that haven’t been fully restored after the COVID-19 pandemic.
Fire President of Business Operations Dave Baldwin said in a statement that the team was “encouraged” by the results of the survey, “which reflects the consistently positive feedback we’ve received from our fanbase and Chicagoans in general.”
Pending City Council approval of the planned development and RDA, the Fire aim to break ground on the stadium by early next year with the goal of beginning to play there in 2028.
Courtesy of Crain’s Chicago Business – Danny Ecker, Published August 14, 2025