Peter Wilt (or someone using his name, but I doubt it) posted this in the comments section last night; he's a good guy and I think his comments deserve front-page airing. My response is below.

"The column is full of factual errors. Parking for Fire games is $15 not $20. It is $12 if you purchase your parking in advance through your ticket rep. Public transportation from downtown Chicago to TOYOTA Park is less than 45 minutes not an hour and a half (see link here)  on 30 minute Orange Line ride from loop to Midway Airport. Direct shuttle from Orange Line at Midway to TOYOTA Park is about 5 to 10 minutes.). TOYOTA Park is not "in the middle of nowhere." It is actually pretty close to the geographic center of Chicagoland. It is geographically and transportationally closer to more than 75% of Chicagoland's population than Soldier Field was.

Those are all facts and Jamie has them wrong. I find that when a writer gets facts wrong, his opinions are often wrong as well. In my opinion, he also has wrong opinions about the atmosphere of Fire games and in particular the US Open Cup Final. From start to finish, the entire stadium was into the game, they were louder than the sold out MLS vs. Chelsea All-Star Game and passionate from Section 8 to the club seats.

IMHO, the diversity of Fire crowds is greater than any team in the MLS (including Chivas USA) except for perhaps Galaxy games and DC United games. Bridgeview itself and the neighborhoods within 3-5 miles are also incredibly diverse - heavily Polish, Middle Eastern and Hispanic.

And the City of Chicago's "bid" of free land and $0 of subsidy can hardly be considered against the 100% funding from Bridgeview. "

I am grateful that Peter stopped by to post this. I have a long-standing and solid relationship with Peter and I have always been impressed by his willingness to speak up for what he believes in. I wish more GMs (or in his case, ex-GMs -- which is to the league's detriment) were like him.

However, I can't let stand Peter's claim that I have got some key "facts" in my responses here wrong. Frankly, I'm right on this stuff, and I find his claims odd from someone who then proceeds to use "facts" rather creatively to make his argument.

Let's start with the biggie: As everyone knows, "Chicagoland" is not "Chicago," nor is the "Village of Bridgeview" the "city of Chicago." While I understand what Peter is trying to say - and he has made this case before to other reporters as well - I (and I think many other fans) aren't buying it. Again, I think I have acknowledged that the Fire got a sweetheart deal - as Peter himself acknowledges in the last line of his post. That doesn't mean the stadium is in the best location, however - just in a location that made a lot of money for the owners and operators.

Second, on the day I last attended a game, parking was indeed $20. While I am glad to learn that advance ticket buyers can get a break of $8, that doesn't change my mind w/r/t the fact that high parking prices are turning potential fans off. Oddly enough, since this post was written, I've received a good 25 emails from folks reinforcing that opinion, mostly from folks who feel the parking costs are exorbinant.
 

I'm a bit sensitive to this for a couple of reasons. I live in the neighborhood that happens to be the heart of the city's Latino community.  Most of my neighbors - and a lot of them have Fire T-shirts, BTW - rely on public transport. A lot of them used to ride the Orange line from Halsted right down to Roosevelt - one stop - to get to Soldier. The new stadium is a heck of a lot father from that. Also, these folks - like your humble reporter - ain't exactly rich. When you add in parking and gas (and it's a good 20-30 minutes from Pilsen to the stadium at peak), it adds up for folks. I don't see a lot of these folks going to games now. I know they want to - but a lot of them feel that it's too far away now. Whether that is more perception than reality doesn't change the fact that the Fire isn't getting these fans through the gates. And that's an issue both Peter and I would like to see solved.



As for the El and the bus: Peter is somewhat misleading in what he says about Chicago public transport - He makes it seem as if it it's a breeze to get from downtown and he quotes CTA statistics to back it up. Unfortunately, as everyone who lives in this city knows, the CTA has a horrible on-time record and its estimates of travel times on its routes range from the somewhat accurate to the downright fanciful. Add in the fact that Peter doesn't include time for train-to-bus changes, and waiting for the bus or train to arrive in the first place, and you might get the impression that the stadium really is 30 minutes away from downtown if you take public transport. It isn't, and that is also a fact, no matter how Peter would like to spin it.

Fourth, the offer of "free land" in the city of Chicago is actually quite substantial. Here's another fact: In my South-Side neighborhood, vacant lots are going for $100K. What do you think vacant land for a stadium is worth? To me, that's a pretty big offer.

Finally, Peter's comment on the Fire's diversity is his opinion, and to his credit, he notes that. My own take differs from his. Having said that: My wife agrees with Peter on this point, and says that the Fire's crowd is more diverse than anyone else's in MLS. My wife is black and Puerto Rican and she might be the best judge of the three of us. So perhaps I have this wrong.

I happened to see Peter with the Section 8 fans at the Open Cup, and it seemed like he was having a blast. However, from the hard cold facts, only 8,000+ folks showed up, and that's not a success for ANY game, no matter how you slice it.

Once again, my thanks to Peter for posting, and I hope he will return again. Whether I agree or disagree with him, I have to say that this is a guy that deserves respect.