MLS Chicago Fire FC

Chicago Fire Weekly Update

Published on August 26, 2002 under Major League Soccer (MLS)
Chicago Fire FC News Release


After a difficult 2-1 loss to the New England Revolution last weekend in front of a sell out crowd of 15,887 at Cardinal Stadium, the Chicago Fire will head to Kansas City for a date with the Wizards on Saturday, August 31 at 7:00 p.m. CT from Arrowhead Stadium. The game will be televised via tape-delay on Fox Sports Net at approximately 9:00 p.m. CT, depending on the running time of the Chicago White Sox at Detroit Tigers game which starts at 6:00 p.m. However the Fire game will be shown live if there is a work stoppage in Major League Baseball (effective August 30). Despite the loss, the Fire remains tied for first-place (with Columbus) in the Eastern Conference with a 10-10-4 mark for 34 points. Chicago is poised to enter the MLS Cup Playoffs for the fifth straight year. The Fire holds the primary tiebreaker on the Crew (2-0-0 head-to-head) in the season series.

The Fire is looking for a boost after the setback last weekend and holds a commanding 11-2-0 advantage on the Kansas City Wizards in the all-time series (7-0-0 @ home and 4-2-0 @ Arrowhead Stadium). Fire all-time leading scorer Ante Razov has pummeled KC with eight goals and three assists for 19 points in nine games. The Wizards outlasted the Fire 1-0 at MLS Cup 2000 (October 15, 2000) on the strength of a 10-save performance by goalkeeper Tony Meola. Since then, the Fire has won all three of the meetings between the teams and has outscored KC 14-1, including a 5-1 thrashing at Cardinal Stadium on August 14. The last time the teams met at Arrowhead Stadium, the Fire destroyed the Wizards 7-0 on July 4, 2001.

The Fire returns to Cardinal Stadium on Saturday, September 7 to face Los Angeles at 7:30 p.m. CT on "Hispanic Heritage Night" in the last meeting of the season between the bitter rivals. Tickets to the Fire's game vs. the Galaxy or any other home game can be purchased through Ticketmaster outlets or by calling 312-559-1212 or visiting www.ticketmaster.com. Tickets can also by purchased at the Cardinal Stadium Box Office, 455 S. Brainard in Naperville, Monday through Friday 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. For groups of 15 or more, please call 1-888-MLS-FIRE.

Fire All-Time Leading Scorer Ante Razov "On Fire" Tonight on CLTV

The Chicago Fire's call-in show, Chicagoland Television's (CLTV) "SportsPage" with its new host Lou Canellis has returned to its Monday night slot. The show will air from 9:30 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. and will feature interviews with Fire players/coaches and calls from fans. Tonight's guest will be Fire forward Ante Razov. The number to call and ask questions is 630-575-8255.

Up Close with Fire GM Peter Wilt

When the Fire General Manager set out to find a new home for the Fire last summer, he didn't expect to find it thirty-five miles away from the city on a college campus in the middle of the winter. Now, seven months later and after giving North Central College's Cardinal Stadium a major facelift, including the addition of 10,000 seats and stadium lights, the Fire's GM finds himself enjoying the successes of his temporary, suburban home, which has seen sellout crowds in the team's last two games. The Fire GM talks about how his position has changed since the team's inaugural season in 1998, the temporary move out west, and what he's got in store for the future.

You are about to finish your fifth season with the Fire. Do you feel your role has changed? How?

In general the position hasn't changed. I continue to be responsible for seeing that all the departments are operating smoothly and I work with all of the department heads to make sure they have the resources to do their jobs well. The specifics change daily as the needs of the departments change. The two most challenging years have been this year and the first year. The challenge the first year was assembling the right personnel in the front office and for the team. This year, the challenge was the relocation to Naperville, new offices, and fortifying the roster.

The Fire is the first pro team in Chicago to play beyond city limits. What were your greatest challenges with the move to Naperville and how do you feel the team has adjusted to this new setting?

When we played at Soldier Field, we simply signed a lease and most of the operational elements were included. This year, while moving offices and dealing with changes in the league, we also sought approval from the city, the neighbors and the college to play at Cardinal Stadium. For better and worse, the lease we negotiated with the college made all the operational issues our responsibility. So, after signing the document in early February, we had to secure agreements for ushers, security, food and beverage, merchandise, parking lots, shuttle buses as well as triple the size of the stadium, add lighting, sound, broadcast booth, scoreboards, fencing, electric, ticket booths and other elements to make the stadium suitable for our fans. All this happened, while we continued to sell sponsorships, season tickets, and group tickets.

The stadium and its setting have proven to be tremendous assets. The sight lines and atmosphere are terrific. The stadium plaza, Fire Fest, the downtown, the historic neighborhood, and the RiverWalk all add up to a wonderful setting for soccer. The narrow and short size of the field has been challenging and reminds us how good it will be to get back to a full size, natural grass surface in the future.

To what do you attribute your latest success at the box office? Has it surpassed your expectations?

We anticipate that we will end up having crowds of 14,000 plus for six of the last seven home games, which make up the second half of our home schedule. We expect to sell out the final four games of the regular season. Our fans are becoming more familiar with the location of our temporary home and we had more time to commit to group sales in the second half of the season. We expected crowds like this the entire season. The first half of the season was more difficult due to poor weather, limited seating capacity and short lead-time for sales.

Will the Fire return to Soldier Field after renovations are complete?

The Fire will play its 2004 season in Soldier Field. The Soldier Field agreement is a series of three-year agreements, which will allow us to continue to explore alternative stadium opportunities.

With soccer-specific stadiums being built in Los Angeles and possibly in D.C. and New Jersey soon, what are the Fire's plans in terms of building its own stadium?

Unlike our original lease with Soldier Field, the new agreement is a true partnership that benefits both parties economically. In order to justify building our own stadium, we will need a committed community willing to form a similar partnership that will benefit all parties. While pleased with the new agreement, we have been and will continue to be proactive in our search for such a partnership.

What has been your proudest moment of the season thus far?

Moment? Halftime of the 5-1 victory over Kansas City two weeks ago. DaMarcus (Beasley), Josh (Wolff), and Hristo (Stoitchkov) each scored to give the Fire an insurmountable halftime lead in front of a weeknight sellout crowd that included many members of the Naperville community, including Mayor George Pradel, North Central College President Hal Wilde, and many of our new neighbors on North Central College Neighborhood Night. We were on our way to moving into first place in the Eastern Conference and the fans were in great spirits. It was a beautiful night in a wonderful setting and all was going well. Unfortunately, the proudest moment of the year was soon followed by the worst moment of the year - Josh's injury.

Sitting on 81

With last week's victory over the Revolution, Fire Head Coach Bob Bradley has now won 81 all-time MLS matches, putting him in a tie for second with former Dallas boss Dave Dir. With just one more win, Bradley can become MLS's all-time winningest coach. Former D.C. United coach Thomas Rongen leads all coaches with 82 victories. Bradley has also earned 12 playoff wins putting him just two behind U.S. National Team head coach and former DC leader Bruce Arena for the all-time lead. Bradley has posted a record of 81-51-15, while Dir has totaled 81-75-4 and Rongen has 82-90-8.

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Major League Soccer Stories from August 26, 2002


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

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