The Fire selected Levy as food and beverage provider at the MLS club’s new $650M stadium that will open in 2028 in The 78 development. Levy now counts half of MLS as clients and, locally in its home city, provides F&B at Soldier Field, Wrigley Field, United Center, and Rate Field.
“We held them to an extremely high standard. There was no early award or defaulting to Levy,” said Fire President of Business Operations Dave Baldwin.
Sodexo Live and Oak View Group were the other two providers the Fire seriously considered. During the RFP process that ran late spring into early summer of this year, at least five of the main sports venue F&B industry players came to Chicago to pitch Fire executives at the Wrigley Building (an aside: the team moves into their new offices in that building this week).
Levy’s pitch included a white-labeled hospitality company similar to ones they’ve created at other venues, as well as a commitment to bring local restaurants and restauranteurs into the venue, like they’ve successfully done at soccer venues in St. Louis and K.C. in recent years. The 78 is located near a vibrant Chinatown, and it’ll be part of a diverse Chicago food scene prominently featured in the new venue, alongside some American live sports staples.
“Very often, teams and stadium builders want to know what everyone else is doing, and while that’s really informative because there are some great ideas out there, (the Fire) were less concerned with what everyone else is doing and they really had an opinion on what they should be doing,” said Levy CEO Andy Lansing. “While that sounds logical and normal, it’s not always the case. They really want this to be hyper-local. This area is so rich with different ethnicities and food stories. We’re going to bring the outside in.”
Premium will also be a major focus and revenue generator in the privately financed stadium (designed by Gensler), making it a key part of Levy’s approach to the account.
“Our premium is going to be unlike anything else in (North American) soccer and our hope is it ends up being the best in all of Chicago sports,” said Baldwin. “And Levy understood that from the start.”
Details about the two organizations’ deal weren’t shared, though a source close to the negotiations indicated it’s one of the largest F&B deals for an American soccer club. The deal gets Levy onboard early in the stadium development process, as was the case with Nashville SC, St. Louis City, the Crew, Austin FC, FC Cincinnati, DC United and Atlanta United.
“It was important to get them on early,” said Baldwin, a recent SBJ Forty Under 40 honoree. “There is an opportunity for them to impact the matchday experience, the design of the different club spaces, the back-of-house kitchens.”
