Why the Fire are embracing Premier League's visit to Chicago
The English Premier League and NBC Sports are holding a fan fest this weekend in Chicago. Already the richest and most popular soccer league in the world, the Premier League is looking to gain new fans — and get into new wallets — in the U.S. with events like this gathering in Lincoln Park that wraps today.
Instead of viewing the Premier League and other major European circuits as competition, the Fire are choosing another tactic.
"This is a huge event that will draw a lot of eyeballs," Fire president of business operations Dave Baldwin told the Sun-Times. "We think this is a 'rising tide lifts all boats.' The more exposure that soccer gets in the city of Chicago, the better."
The Fire have contributed to the festivities. Organizers worked with Paul Cadwell, the Fire's senior vice president of community programs, engagement and facilities, to stage the gathering. The two sides combined for an all-day activation Thursday at the Fire Pitch that included clinics and a panel discussion.
Baldwin wants area fans of Manchester City, Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspur, Chelsea and big teams elsewhere to give the North American league another look and pick the Fire to be their MLS club.
"Our hope is that as far as a domestic team within MLS, that the Fire can become their favorite and they'll come out to games and experience the game of soccer through the Fire locally," Baldwin said.
Incursions into the Chicago market are nothing new for foreign leagues. This year, Soldier Field hosted a Real Madrid-AC Milan friendly and has welcomed heavyweights such as England's Manchester United, France's Paris Saint-Germain and Germany's Borussia Dortmund, among others.
The Fire haven't sat on the sidelines for those games, either. They've built bundles into their ticket packages and worked with promoters to do match-day marketing.
Some could view the spread of European soccer into the U.S. as a danger. Unlike the other top men's leagues in this country, MLS is not the pinnacle of its sport. Fans who are looking for the best of the best can turn to England or Spain.
Baldwin isn't concerned about fans getting siphoned off by superior leagues abroad.
"I don't view it as a threat, given that this is something that is going to happen whether the Fire are interested in participating or not," Baldwin said. "The American sports consumer is clearly a group that the Premier League is looking to target, just like the NFL goes overseas and has games in London or has games in Germany. We look at this as an opportunity to collaborate with them."
With the U.S., Canada and Mexico hosting the 2026 World Cup, MLS is working to double its core fan base. To do that, the Fire and other domestic soccer teams will need to convince people — soccer fans or not — to test the product.
Associating with the Premier League could be one way to get that done.
"At the end of the day, there is a certain amount of discretionary income that fans have to spend on soccer," Baldwin said. "Most fans are not flying over to England for a game. But they will come down to Soldier Field to watch a match. Will they buy a kit from their favorite player overseas instead of a player here? Potentially, but we look at this as an opportunity to attract sports fans that maybe traditionally are not diehard soccer fans."
