BRIDGEVIEW, Ill. - The Chicago Fire has announced that the club has rescheduled its Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Fourth Round match against the Kansas City Wizards for Monday, Aug. 14 at 7:30 p.m. CT at TOYOTA PARK in Bridgeview.
The Fire and Wizards were forced to postpone the match, originally scheduled for last evening, after severe thunderstorms in the Chicago area provided unsafe playing conditions. After nearly a four-hour delay, the match was called off after game officials and both clubs determined the match would not be able to kick-off at a reasonable time.
"Firstly, I'd like to thank all the fans in attendance yesterday who came out to support the Fire on what was a very unusual and frustrating night for everyone," said Fire President/CEO John Guppy. "We look forward to rewarding those fans that tried to stick it out last evening and all our fans with our first step towards a fourth Open Cup trophy on Aug. 14."
As was the case for last night's scheduled match, all tickets for the Fire-Wizards game on Aug. 14 will cost $15 (Club Seating excluded) and will be sold on a first-come, best available seat in the house basis. In addition, the Fire has announced that parking for the Aug. 14 match will be free of charge at TOYOTA PARK.
The Fire will honor any tickets and ticket stubs from yesterday's cancelled event for the Aug. 14 match. Fans that cannot make the newly scheduled date can also exchange their tickets or ticket stubs from last night for one of the squad's two Wednesday matches in August: another clash against the Wizards two days later on Aug. 16 (8:00 p.m. CT) or the lone visit to Bridgeview this season by the Houston Dynamo on Aug. 30 (8:00 p.m. CT). The Fire will re-issue tickets to its season ticket holders for the Aug. 14 match in the upcoming days. Fans with any questions regarding tickets for the contest are encouraged to call the Fire's Customer Service Hotline at 708-496-6800.
The winner of the Fire-Wizards Fourth Round contest will face the New England Revolution in the U.S. Open Cup Quarterfinals on Wednesday, Aug. 23. New England advanced out of the Fourth Round last evening with a 5-4 win in penalty kicks after the match at PAETEC Park in Rochester, NY ended scoreless after 90 minutes of regulation and 30 minutes of added time. Should the Fire defeat the Wizards, the "Men in Red" would host the quarterfinal match against the Revolution at TOYOTA PARK.
