The Fire’s new $750M soccer-specific stadium on Chicago’s riverfront will be known as McDonald’s Park, as the locally based fast-food giant has agreed to its first-ever naming-rights deal in the U.S. for a professional sports stadium. As part of the agreement, the stadium will include a flagship McDonald’s restaurant that will be open to the public 365 days a year.
The Fire’s 22,000-seat stadium is set to open in 2028, with the McDonald’s deal running through 2040. It is technically a 14-year deal with two bridge years prior to the facility’s opening.
Financial terms were not disclosed, but sources with knowledge of the deal said the agreement ranks among the most valuable naming-rights deals in MLS on an annual basis. It is believed to trail the league’s highest-paying agreements, including Inter Miami’s deal with NuBank and NYCFC’s pact with Etihad, while landing in the same ballpark as LAFC’s $10M-a-year deal with BMO.
McDonald’s is the largest publicly traded company based in Chicago by market cap, making the brand a natural target for the Fire’s most valuable asset tied to its new stadium. The deal is the most lucrative in franchise history.
“When you look at the ideal naming rights partner, you want someone who has massive global reach and local ties,” said Fire President of Business Operations Dave Baldwin. “So, as we put together that list just under a year ago, we identified McDonald’s as a dream partner, and we’re really humbled and honored to be in a position today to announce them as our new naming-rights partner.”
Details of the McDonald’s restaurant within the stadium are still being worked out, but it is expected to take up 15,000-20,000 square feet, making it several times larger than a traditional free-standing McDonald’s location. Like about 95% of McDonald’s stores, the one in McDonald’s Park is expected to be owned and operated by a franchisee.
“What I continue to get excited about is how we can take this physical space and use that almost as a media platform to talk about our brand and our role in sports and our role in culture to make it really extend beyond just this single physical location,” said McDonald’s Global CMO and EVP/New Business Ventures Morgan Flatley.
Baldwin said the restaurant will also be accessible to fans during Fire games and other events at the stadium. He added that team is working with McDonald’s and stadium concessionaire Levy to “figure out how and where McDonald’s lives” within the broader food and beverage offerings within the venue.
In addition to naming rights and the franchise location, McDonald’s will receive presenting sponsorship rights to the Fire’s P.L.A.Y.S. Program, which supports free, school‑based soccer programming across Chicago Public Schools. The investment by McDonald’s will double the program’s footprint from 70 to 140 schools by the stadium opening in 2028, with a long-term plan to grow that number to 280.
Excel Sports Management worked with the Fire to source and negotiate the naming-rights deal, with VP/Corporate Partnerships John Nowicki working alongside Fire SVP/Corporate Partnerships Goyo Perez. Flatley said McDonald’s Chair & CEO Chris Kempczinski had direct conversations with Fire owner Joe Mansueto in recent weeks as deal talks became serious.
The Fire’s Gensler-designed venue will sit on 10 acres in The 78, a new 62-acre neighborhood being developed by Related Midwest. Mansueto is privately funding construction of the facility, which will feature a canopy over the seating area and a natural grass pitch. The venue is expected to host up to 45 major events per year, including Fire matches and concerts.
The deal with McDonald’s is the latest in a string of major commercial victories for the Fire. Baldwin said the club has quadrupled sponsorship revenue over the past three years, with further growth expected with the move to the new stadium. In addition to McDonald’s, the team has closed deals for two of four “cornerstone” partner positions for the new building, which have yet to be announced. It also recently renewed its front-of-kit sponsorship agreement with Carvana and signed a founding partnership with SeatGeek.
While naming rights represents a new frontier for McDonald’s, the brand is no stranger to soccer sponsorship. The company is a long-time sponsor of the FIFA World Cup and is the title sponsor of France’s Ligue 1.
