Chicago-based Levy to provide food service at new $750 million Fire stadium

The shovels have yet to hit the ground at the Chicago Fire’s new privately funded $750 million soccer stadium in the South Loop, but we already know who will be serving up food and beverage.

Chicago-based Levy was named Wednesday to handle all of the concessions at the planned state-of-the-art stadium when it opens for business in 2028.

One of the leading sports venue concessionaires in the country, Levy will be working with the Fire to design the kitchen, food stands, bars and suite hospitality from the ground up to make the city’s first new stadium in decades more than a peanuts-and-Cracker Jack experience.

“They’re going to work to engage local culinary talent, local restaurateurs, to bring some of the flavors from around the different 77 neighborhoods into the stadium,” said Dave Baldwin, the Fire’s president of business operations. “It will not just be your standard ballpark fare throughout the stadium, where you get hot dogs and chicken tenders and nachos.”

The planned stadium itself is anything but standard fare. Announced in June, the Fire are building a 22,000-seat, open-air soccer facility at the north end of The 78, a long-fallow megadevelopment planned for 62 acres along the Chicago River south of Roosevelt Road.

Designed by architectural firm Gensler, the red brick stadium will feature a natural grass pitch, 50 luxury suites, intimate seating and a canopied roof to keep fans mostly protected from the elements during the spring-through-fall MLS soccer season.

“We’ll have the nicest stadium in all of MLS,” Baldwin said. “It’ll be truly a world-class stadium.”

Perhaps most noteworthy, team owner Joe Mansueto has pledged the $750 million Fire stadium will be privately financed.

The price tag for the stadium, which received final approval from the City Council in September, has gone up by $100 million since the project was first announced.

Baldwin said the original estimate was a back-of-the-napkin number estimate generated before the Chicago-based general contractors — Pepper Construction, GMA Construction Group and ALL Construction Group — were brought on board. The new number also reflects increased costs due to inflation and President Donald Trump’s tariffs, he said.

Mansueto maintained his pledge to build the privately financed stadium as conceived, despite the higher cost of construction.

“We’re really fortunate to have an owner in Joe who not only is privately financing this, but decided to really keep everything intact, and didn’t look to cut any corners or value engineer anything out,” Baldwin said.

After nearly a decade of big swings and misses, including a failed bid to build a new White Sox ballpark, The 78 and developer Related Midwest are banking on the new Fire stadium to catalyze the proposed mixed-use megadevelopment, potentially turning the former rail yard into a bustling South Side Wrigleyville.

The Fire stadium will be the latest addition to the roster for Levy, already a presence at major sports venues across the city. In addition to stadium concessions, Levy will provide premium hospitality services to the suites at the new venue — all with a distinctly Chicago flavor.

“At Levy, we take immense pride in our hometown — in the people, communities, and incredible food culture that makes Chicago unlike anywhere else,” Andy Lansing, CEO of Levy, said in a news release. “Partnering with the Fire on their new stadium is an opportunity to create something that uniquely reflects Chicago. We’re excited to build a hospitality experience that welcomes every fan, celebrates the city we love, and sets a new standard for what food and beverage can be at a world-class venue.”

Launched as a Chicago restaurant group more than 45 years ago, Levy has evolved into a leading sports and entertainment hospitality company with more than 300 venues across every major pro and collegiate sports league in North America. Levy serves half of the 30 teams in the MLS.

Chicago-area sports venues served by Levy include Wrigley Field, United Center, Soldier Field, Rate Field and Now Arena in Hoffman Estates. Levy also took over concessions for the third and potentially final Chicago Street Race held during July Fourth weekend in Grant Park.

Beyond sports, last month Levy was named as the exclusive food and beverage provider for the permanent Bally’s Chicago Casino, which is scheduled to open by the fourth quarter of 2026 at the 30-acre site of the former Chicago Tribune printing plant in River West.

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Meanwhile, the Fire will have to wait a few years before opening their new home stadium.

The team will continue to play at Soldier Field for the next two seasons, where they just wrapped up a successful campaign with their first playoff appearance since 2017, winning a wild-card match with Orlando City before being eliminated in a first-round sweep by the Philadelphia Union.

The Fire averaged 23,420 fans per game at Soldier Field this season, setting a club record but leaving the 61,500-seat stadium two-thirds empty for most matches.

In addition, the team was forced to play its playoff matches at SeatGeek Stadium, its former home in Bridgeview, because the Chicago Park District had booked Soldier Field for other events, perhaps not anticipating that the Fire would actually reach the postseason.

“We’re really excited to have playoff games starting in 2028 in our new stadium, and continue to work closely with the Park District to ensure that Soldier Field is as available as possible in the fall for Fire matches,” Baldwin said.

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