Edward Keegan: Chicago Fire stadium plans cry out for a bit of quirkiness

Chicago Tribune

3 days ago

Following a few weeks during which we had just a single fuzzy image of a soccer stadium to contemplate, the Chicago Fire and Related Midwest have finally given us a bit more imagery to assess for their proposed $650 million arena within The 78 master plan in the South Loop. As shown, the new stadium will anchor the 62-acre development that stretches from Clark Street to the Chicago River and from Roosevelt Road to 16th Street.
We now have renderings and a video from the Fire that show just the stadium on the site and an additional half dozen images from Related that provide some context in the evolving master plan. Ubiquitous architectural behemoth Gensler is behind all the imagery; the brick, steel and glass-clad stadium has been designed by its Austin-based stadium team in coordination with the firm's Chicago office, which is responsible for the current master plan.
As shown, the new stadium is simple, unimposing and not unattractive. The developers explain that Gensler has designed in the ''Chicago School' of architecture,' but it's more of a generalized warehouse aesthetic that you might find at a contemporary shopping mall anywhere in America. It cries out for a bit of quirkiness that would make the structure more distinctive and genuinely grounded in Chicago's unique architectural culture. An exposed steel canopy over the stadium's seating will provide welcome shade during the summer and some protection from precipitation, but its most important function is helping to define the stadium's interior as a more intimate space than a 22,000-seat venue might otherwise feel. It's also where a more contemporary take on Miesian structural expression might create a more memorable building.
The western edge of the stadium will be on Wells Street with a new park that will open this face directly to the river. A smaller plaza, akin to the Cub's Gallagher Way in Wrigleyville, sits at the north edge of the stadium.
Fire owner Joe Mansueto's track record for architecture is quite good. His Morningstar is located in a Ralph Johnson and Perkins+Will-designed building at Washington and Dearborn streets; his patronage created the University of Chicago's Helmut Jahn-designed bubble glass library at South Ellis Avenue and 57th Streets; and his elegant steel and glass Lincoln Park home was designed by Margaret McCurry. Gensler might be the most pedestrian of the architects he's employed to date, but we can hope that he presses it to develop the design to match these earlier forays in architecture.
We don't know much about the evolution of the plans for The 78 other than that they have evolved. The original plans, released in 2018, relied on a healthy mix of office, retail, commercial and residential uses, but lacked a definitive neighborhood-defining element. It was designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, which has had a hand in many large-scale plans in the city dating to the 1950s. The firm was replaced by Gensler some time ago, but we've yet to see what the full Gensler plan looks like, save what we now can decode from the handful of newly available renderings.
Shown around the stadium are many new buildings, but they're reasonably sized for the South Loop — big, but not egregiously so. These are classic background buildings — they defer to the stadium, the riverfront plaza and the river. This is a quite reasonable hierarchy of structures and spaces, although it does raise the question of whether the stadium should have a little more sizzle.
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The biggest problem with The 78 has always been its lack of connection to the surrounding areas. The opposite side of the river is still predominantly a rail yard and offers no obvious opportunities to create links to the west. And the east side of the property has Metra lines and a Dearborn Park neighborhood that was planned and built as its own walled citadel. The latest plans connect 13th Street at Clark into The 78, but 14th and 15th streets, which Gensler uses to organize their plan, are cut off from Clark by the Metra tracks. LaSalle connects Roosevelt to the new plaza north of the stadium, a sensible move that will also accommodate pedestrian traffic from a number of nearby CTA stops for both buses and the 'L.'
And there's no news about the status of a White Sox ballpark at The 78. It appears that adding a ballpark south of the Fire stadium is doable, but the larger footprint needed for such a facility would likely require adjustments to the alignment of the new streets that could be awkward. And adding a second stadium would render The 78 as predominantly a sports complex rather than the new neighborhood that Related has been pursuing for almost a decade. I suspect a more robust mix of uses might actually be more profitable for the developers — and the city — in the long run.
Construction on the stadium is anticipated to begin by the start of 2026, with the new stadium slated to open in 2028.
Because the stadium will be privately financed by Mansueto, this will finally get shovels in the ground at The 78. But whether it genuinely catalyzes the development of the remaining 50-plus acres on the site remains to be seen.
Edward Keegan writes, broadcasts and teaches on architectural subjects. Keegan's biweekly architecture column is supported by a grant from former Tribune critic Blair Kamin, as administered by the not-for-profit Journalism Funding Partners. The Tribune maintains editorial control over assignments and content.