DATA COURTESY OF CHICAGO OPEN DATA PORTAL
Map provided by Google Maps
One of the most vibrant aspects of the city of Chicago is its sports scene and fandom. Even in its extreme weathers, Chicago Sports fans attend and celebrate their love for the game of baseball, basketball, football, and hockey.
Was there a reason soccer wasn’t included?
The Chicago Transit Authority is one of the main sources of transportation for Chicagoans, but the CTA stops don’t extend as far out to the Chicago Fire’s SeatGeek Stadium.
The Chicago Fire is a professional American soccer team that competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a part of the league’s Eastern Conference. The Fire acquired German soccer star, Bastian Schweinsteiger, for their 2018 season and have re-signed him for 2019.
In the Map above, professional stadiums like Wrigley Field, United Center, and Guaranteed Rate Field are shown to be near CTA stops. This makes the trip more convenient for fans to attend the games, especially in unpredictable Chicago weather. SeatGeek Stadium is far off from the CTA stops, in comparison to the other sports stadiums in the Chicagoland area.
Location plays a big factor in this.
The main professional sports teams in Chicago actually play in the city of Chicago, whereas the Fire do not. They play in a suburb outside of the city called Bridgeview.
Soccer is becoming more and more popular in the United States– especially in Chicago– yet it is still a struggle for the Fire to fill up their seats. The access to CTA may be playing a strong factor in this.
https://www.transitchicago.com/sports/
SOCCER CULTURE IN CHICAGO 