CHICAGO – Fire president Julian Posada met with about 25 members of Section 8 Chicago at their monthly board meeting on Wednesday night, addressing numerous issues in an illuminating 45-minute Q&A session.
Posada, who was accompanied by Fire director of soccer and team development Paul Cadwell and vice president Emigdio Gamboa, spoke on a wide variety of issues. Here are the highlights:
Sponsor status
It’s looking more and more likely that the Fire will enter this season without a jersey sponsor. The club, which was sponsored by Best Buy for the last three years, had discussions with multiple companies this offseason, but couldn’t find the right fit.
[inlinenode:318490]Posada said that he’s more interested in finding a “partner” than making a “transaction.”
Until they find a jersey sponsor, Chicago’s red home uniforms will have “Fire” written across the chest. The white away jerseys will have no wording on the front.
TV details
Posada said that the team “hopes to have an official television schedule out in the next 48 hours.”
He also told the board not to “expect the same broadcast team” of Dan Kelly (play-by-play) and Chris Doran (color) in 2011.
“We want people that can raise the level of the broadcast while keeping authenticity intact,” Posada said.
Summer friendly update
Posada and Cadwell talked with the board about the possibility of hosting an international friendly this summer.
Posada told the group that the Fire is “negotiating with a ton of [European] teams, including Manchester United.” Chicago have also had serious talks with two previous Champions League winners and teams in the English Premier League, Spain’s La Liga, Italy’s Serie A and the Dutch Eredivisie.
But don’t read too far into those discussions just yet. The team still isn’t sure whether or not they’ll hold a friendly this summer. Both Posada and Cadwell cited the increasingly exorbitant costs of hosting big European clubs as potential downfalls for a deal.
The Fire – who played AC Milan at Toyota Park in a friendly last May – did say that any exhibition match would be made a part of the season-ticket plan.
Searching for a US Open Cup venue
The Fire know that they’ll host the Colorado Rapids in the second stage of qualifying for the US Open Cup this April; they just don’t know exactly where yet.
[inlinenode:329759]Chicago have decided not to play the match at Toyota Park, deeming it too big for a game that figures to have a low turnout. They’ve been looking for a smaller stadium to host the match for the past few days, but haven’t yet found a suitable location.
Cadwell said that the team looked into holding the match at the University of Illinois at Chicago, the University of Notre Dame, DePaul University and Lake Forest College but – for one reason or another – none of the options panned out. The team, which wants to play on a natural grass field, is still exploring the possibilities of playing at Bradley University in Peoria, Ill., or North Central College in Naperville, Ill.
The Fire played a US Open Cup match at Bradley in 2009 and called the campus of North Central College home when Soldier Field was being renovated in 2002 and 2003.
Miscellaneous
- Posada said the Fire recently began construction on a merchandise store at Toyota Park. He doesn’t yet know when the shop – which will have 2000 square feet of retail space – will be completed.
- The Fire’s U-18 academy team will host Mexico’s U-17 team on March 15 at Toyota Park. The match will be open to the public.
- Posada said that the reserve-league schedule will be out “very, very soon.” The Fire will hold their reserve league games at the Toyota Park practice field.
- Cadwell said that the Toyota Park head groundskeeper told him on Tuesday that the playing surface – which was spotty at times last season – should be significantly better in 2011.
Sam Stejskal covers the Chicago Fire for MLSsoccer.com. Email him at sam.h.stejskal@gmail.com and follow him on Twitter @samstejskal.
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