The west tower crane at McDonald’s Park, the first of two rigs that will erect the Chicago Fire’s new stadium, will soon have a sibling to play with on the east side of the construction site. The base—a much longer tower crane base than we usually see planted in the ground—is now standing at The 78, awaiting full setup.
Photo by Daniel Schell
Photo by Daniel Schell
Photo by Daniel Schell
the west crane at work on the stadium’s west seating area. Photo by Daniel Schell
Photo by Daniel Schell
Concrete for the south end. Photo by Daniel Schell
Photo by Daniel Schell
We missed out on a chance to keep the McDonald’s theme going by erecting a yellow crane and a red crane, but having two on the same job site is still a win. The east crane, a distinctively yellow Liebherr 316 EC-H12 Litronic model, was permitted on June 5, two weeks after the first crane permit came through, despite both showing application start dates of April 14. The west crane, a white Peiner SK-415, has been in operation for more than three months now.
Concrete forms for the north end of the stadium. Photo by Daniel Schell
Photo by Daniel Schell
The east crane’s concrete mat. Photo by Daniel Schell
Photo by Daniel Schell
Concrete columns and forms at the stadium’s north end. Photo by Daniel Schell
Photo by Daniel Schell
Photo by Daniel Schell
The west side of the soccer stadium shows progress on the seating areas, while concrete progress has reached the underside of the second level at the south end. At the north end of the site, concrete columns have risen, with forms ready for pouring more. Once that east crane is erected, we’ll see similar work get started along the Clark Street side of the site.
Photo by Daniel Schell
Photo by Daniel Schell
Photo by Daniel Schell
Photo by Daniel Schell
As a refresher, The Fire and owner Joe Mansueto are funding the $750 million+ stadium privately. Gensler is the design architect, with the team of Pepper Construction, GMA Construction, and ALL Construction joining forces as general contractors. The Fire plan to have the stadium open in time for their 2028 MLS season.
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Great job Chicago Fire. Can’t wait to see games there. It’s ironic how some people are blaming JP or the state or city for bears moving as if the state and city is not doing good job to build stadium. But then NW already completed, Fire under construction and White Sox in planning stage. Like we are building more stadiums than ever. If Bears can’t fund their own stadium, it is on them not on the state!