Chicago Fire FC Hopes To Build Training Center On Near West Side

CHICAGO — The city’s professional soccer team has already found a home along Chicago’s Lakefront but is now looking to the city’s Near West Side for the site of a new training facility.

Chicago Fire FC announced on Thursday it has started discussions with Mayor Lori Lightfoot, 28th Ward Ald. Jason Ervin and the Chicago Housing Authority to build a new training facility and performance center, the team announced.

The discussions involve a nearly 30-acre vacant parcel of land and under an agreement, the Fire would build a multi-million facility that will provide a variety of community benefits and public investments into neighboring public housing sites, long-term employment for community members, and recreational opportunities for youth, the team said in a news release.

The proposed site is generally bounded by Roosevelt Road, Ashland Avenue, 14th Street and Loomis Street, team officials said. The facility, which would shift from suburban Bridgeview, where the team currently trains, comes after the Fire began playing its home games at Soldier Field in 2020.

"The Chicago Fire, which is one of our city's greatest sports teams, deserves to have a high-quality training facility that not only meets their needs but fosters the growth of talented athletes," Lightfoot said in a statement issued on Thursday. "This potential new facility will not only fulfill this need, but also provide the surrounding West Side community with job, recreational and other incredible opportunities in the future. I look forward to discussing this exciting project further with the Fire, Alderman Ervin, and the CHA in the coming days."

The team said that a public engagement process to discuss the proposal, including community meetings, will begin in March. Meetings will be hosted or co-hosted by the CHA, Department of Planning and Development (DPD), the Fire, and Ervin.

More information on the public meetings will be forthcoming. The Fire also plans to meet with multiple community organizations in the weeks ahead.

Tentative facility plans include practice fields and a performance center where team members prepare for matches, the release said The facility would also house the Fire’s Youth Academy, and would offer programmed activities for youth, teens, and young adults in CHA housing and the broader community.

The planning process will have an overall goal of creating an economic anchor that provides employment, recreational opportunities, and affordable housing resources for the community, including the rehabilitation and preservation of nearby CHA properties, resources for minority- and women-owned businesses, and community green space.

The site was previously occupied by portions of CHA’s former ABLA Homes, which is already in the process of being replaced by the mixed-income Roosevelt Square community as part of CHA’s ongoing commitment to develop mixed-income, mixed-use housing, officials said.

“The Chicago Fire Football Club is committed to making a difference in the lives of young people and communities through soccer,” Chicago Fire FC President Ishwara Glassman Chrein said in a prepared statement. “In neighborhoods across the city, soccer brings people together, fostering a strong sense of history and community while showing immense passion for the game. We look forward to presenting the project to the local community, hearing their feedback, and creating new opportunities for residents of the Near West Side to enjoy the game.”