Key facts
Club: Chicago Fire | Opening: 1924 | Capacity: 61,500 seats
History & description
Soldier Field opened in 1924. The first match, an American football match between Louisville Male High School and Chicago Austin High, was played on 4 October 1924.
In its early years, the stadium would regularly pack over 100,00 spectators, culminating in 123,000 people watching a football match between Notre Dame and Southern California in 1927.
In the 1970s, the Chicago Bears moved in an over the next decade several renovations reduced capacity to 66,950 seats.
Soldier Field was one of the playing venues of the 1994 World Cup. It hosted four first round group matches and the round of 16 match between Germany and Belgium (3-2).
In 2003, the stadium got almost entirely rebuild save the classic facades, which reduced capacity to its current of just over 60,000.
The stadium had become the home of Chicago Fire in 1998 upon them entering the newly formed MLS, though soon proved much too large for their attendances. They therefore planned to build a new soccer-specific stadium, and moved to Toyota Park in Bridgeview in 2005.
However, they never really warmed up to the stadium far out of town, and 15 years later decided to move back to Soldier Field, starting with the 2020 season.
Over the years, the stadium has been a regular playing venue during Concacaf Gold Cups that were held in the USA, and hosted the 2007, 2013 and 2019 tournament final.
Soldier Field will be one of the playing venues of the 2026 World Cup that is hosted in the USA, Mexico, and Canada.
How to get to Soldier Field
Soldier Field is located in central Chicago on the waterfront of Lake Michigan. It lies on the southern edge of Chicago’s central business district, The Loop, and is thus easily reached.
The nearest metro station is Roosevelt station, which is on the Red, Green, and Orange lines with links to many central locations. It is a 15-minute walk to the stadium.
If coming from the south of Chicago, you might also be able to catch a Metra Electric train to 18th Street Station.
Chicago Fire Tickets
Chicago Fire tickets can be bought online through Ticketmaster.
Ticket prices depend on the opponent but expect to pay from $20.00 for a general admission ticket behind the goal to $75.00 for a club seat on the side.
Photos of Soldier Field
Photo credits: Humberto & Marco Verch (license)
Useful Internet links
Chicagofirefc.com – Official website of Chicago Fire.
Soldierfield.net – Official website of Soldier Field.
Explorechicago.org – The official Chicago tourism site.
Transitchicago.com – Chicago public transport information.