BRIDGEVIEW, Ill. - Chicago Fire Soccer has announced that the club will begin its tenth season of play in Major League Soccer at Bridgeview's TOYOTA PARK on Saturday, April 7, 2007, when the squad will welcome 2006 MLS Cup finalist New England Revolution for a 7:30 p.m. CT kick-off (television information TBD). The Fire will announce individual game ticket information in the coming months, but fans can secure their seats for the season opening match against the Revolution immediately by purchasing a 2007 Season Full Ticket Package, available by calling 1-888-MLS-FIRE or clicking on the TICKETS link on the club's official website, www.Chicago-Fire.com.
The 2007 MLS regular season opener will mark the first-ever at TOYOTA PARK for the "Men in Red" and mirrors the only other time in the club's previous nine seasons it opened the regular season at home, as Chicago and New England battled to a 1-1 draw on Apr. 13, 2003 at Benedetti-Wehrli Stadium (formerly Cardinal Stadium) in Naperville, Ill. The Fire has split its previous nine regular season openers right down the middle, going 3-3-3 in season-starters since its inaugural season of 1998.
"After the travels at the beginning of last season, the Fire organization is thrilled to kick off our historic tenth season next spring at TOYOTA PARK," said Fire President/CEO John Guppy. "Our rivalry with New England has grown to become one of the best in MLS over the last half-decade, and Fire fans can expect to see the same passion, emotion and intensity that have always been on display against the Revolution when we open up our season in Bridgeview in April."
One of Major League Soccer's fiercest rivalries is also one of the most even, as the Fire and Revolution will open the 2007 MLS regular season with an equal 17-17-6 record against each other in MLS regular season, MLS Cup Playoff and Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup play.
The 2006 season saw the intensity between the two Eastern Conference clubs grow even further, as the teams squared off seven times across all competitions, the Fire coming away with a 4-2-1 record against its Eastern Conference rival. Chicago took the regular season slate from the Revs by a 2-1-1 margin and also defeated New England in the quarterfinals of the 2006 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup. The Fire would also take Game One of the Eastern Conference Semifinal Series against New England, but it was the Revolution that had the last laugh after ending Chicago's season for the fourth time in five years via a 4-2 penalty kick triumph at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, Mass., this after the Revolution defeated Chicago 2-1 in Game Two to fittingly push the series into a 2-2 stalemate on aggregate goals.
The full schedule for the 2007 MLS regular season, including the remaining 29 games in the Fire's season slate, will be announced in January.
