The first permit has been issued by the City of Chicago to begin construction on the Chicago Fire’s new stadium in the South Loop. Assigned to the address of 1331 South Wells Street, the permit allows for piles to be driven for the stadium. More specifically, piles for vertical penetration only, for the four-story soccer stadium’s foundations. The permit came through the Chicago Data Portal on Friday, March 20 with a reported cost of $5 million. It had been pending since October 24.
The contracting team of Pepper Construction, GMA Construction, and A.L.L. Construction are recipients of the permit, the first of many more to come. This permit had been pending in the Chicago Data Portal since October 24, which isn’t a very long time. But considering how quickly the city seemed to want to allow this project to get underway, a faster permit delivery would not have been a surprise.
Chicago Fire FC stadium groundbreaking, via Major League Soccer on X
The Fire held a groundbreaking ceremony for the stadium on Wednesday, March 3. Some of us dreamers hoped the piles would be permitted during the ceremony, with a police escort leading a representative from City Hall to The 78 with the fresh permit framed and ready to display on the construction fencing. Alas, there were no such dramatics. But there were fireworks, as you can see above.
Photo by Daniel Schell
Photo by Daniel Schell
Photo by Daniel Schell
Site prep kicked off in conjunction with the ceremony, and it’s been ongoing since. With piles now permitted to begin, look for the lot to get much busier very soon. Like teammates waiting to take their penalty kicks, additional permits are lining up in the Data Portal. A permit for shallow foundations has been pending since February 20, and a permit for the stadium’s superstructure hit the portal on March 17.
Photo by Daniel Schell
Photo by Daniel Schell
Photo by Daniel Schell
Rendering of Chicago Fire FC stadium by Gensler
Rendering of Chicago Fire FC stadium by Gensler
Rendering of Chicago Fire FC stadium by Gensler
Initially expected to cost $650,000,000, new reports have pushed the price tag up to $750 million. Picking up the tab will be the Chicago Fire and their owner, Joe Mansueto. They plan to host the first soccer games and other events in the spring of 2028.
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I’m not too sure how long it will take for those rendered high rises to ever get built, but this will be a stadium surrounded by parking lots for years.
Still better than a giant, weedy lot, of course…