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USL Soccer Extravaganza Headed to Chicago’s North Side

By Chuck Wharton

Pedestrians walk on a sidewalk along the Chicago River across from the new Apple Inc. Michigan Avenue store in Chicago, Illinois, U.S., on Friday, Oct. 20, 2017. The building features exterior walls made entirely of glass with four interior columns supporting a 111-by-98 foot carbon-fiber roof, designed to minimize the boundary between the city and the Chicago River. Photographer: Daniel Acker/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Pedestrians walk on a sidewalk along the Chicago River across from the new Apple Inc. Michigan Avenue store in Chicago, Illinois, U.S., on Friday, Oct. 20, 2017. The building features exterior walls made entirely of glass with four interior columns supporting a 111-by-98 foot carbon-fiber roof, designed to minimize the boundary between the city and the Chicago River. Photographer: Daniel Acker/Bloomberg via Getty Images /
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Expect no rest for soccer for soccer supporters over the next several years. For a USL team heads to Chicago in 2020. Moreover, they move into a great new mixed-use complex.

Chicago has plenty of soccer. They’ve got MLS, NWSL, colleges and beyond. So what do developers and the USL (United Soccer League) think? That a crowd of hungry supports awaits?

Play soccer where they ain’t

Ryan Ori of the Chicago Tribune examined USL’s Chicago attraction. It actually begins where the crowd doesn’t gather now. That’s because of Chicago’s soccer supporters beef about the existing location.

"Ori: It remains to be seen how the USL, a professional league one level below Major League Soccer, will fare in Chicago. But there is a passionate soccer fan base within the city. And many supporters of the sport have lamented the MLS Chicago Fire’s location in southwest suburban Bridgeview. As well as the team’s struggle to stay relevant in a market that includes teams in each of the major sports."

Excitement starts with a state-of-the-art 20,000-seat stadium. Then around the stadium appears a huge, 70-acre complex called Lincoln Yards. Nearby lay the Lincoln Park and Bucktown neighborhoods along the Chicago River.

Sterling Bay Managing Principal Andy Gloor detailed the mixed-use plan around the stadium. That expanse makes the attendance difference for this USL team. Sterling Bay develops the complex.

Also, Sterling Bay and their investors own the team. Play begins in 2020.

"Gloor: The live-work-play aspect has to be there. You just can’t build a suburban office complex there. Having the entertainment component is important."

Retractable roof stadium

Sterling Bay planned the stadium near a proposed site for one of Amazon’s headquarters.

"Ori: Although the USL is a minor league to the MLS, it’s possible a more centrally located team could become a viable rival for soccer fans’ attention and ticket dollars.Specific details of the Skidmore, Owings & Merrill-designed stadium are still being fine-tuned. But the venue is expected to have a retractable roof and about 20,000 seats. A retractable roof will allow the stadium to be used for events year-round. Potentially including international soccer matches, college football and basketball games, concerts and other events, Gloor said."

Next: Grading The Four MLS Expansion Finalists

USL expertly promotes and delivers professional soccer in the U.S. They ensure soccer’s thrives around us. While they keep up rapid development, it works.

Yet it’s ok to develop quickly when you’re as successful as the USL.

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