Chicago Red Stars kicked out of own stadium for September game by music festival

Just days after breaking NWSL attendance records with 35,038 fans at Chicago’s Wrigley Field, the Chicago Red Stars found out they were being kicked out of their stadium.

With Wednesday’s announcement that the Riot Fest music festival will be moving to SeatGeek Stadium in September, the Red Stars are forced to find a new venue for their home game against the San Diego Wave on September 21.

The Red Stars released a statement Wednesday on behalf of president Karen Leetzow, who called the unexpected relocation unfair.

“It is unfair and unfortunate to see our club find itself in this situation, highlighting the vast differences in the treatment of women’s professional sports compared to men’s professional sports,” Leetzow wrote.

Leetzow added in the release that the team was working to find an alternative for the game that would still ensure “a top-notch experience” for fans and players.

Riot Fest, which runs September 20-22, is a punk festival whose lineup includes artists like Fall Out Boy, Sublime, Beck and St. Vincent. The festival does not seem to use the stadium itself, but its surroundings.

The Village of Bridgeview, which owns the stadium, released a statement Thursday saying the Red Stars were informed of a possible conflict in April 2024, but failed to communicate despite written notice from the village. “The Village’s decision to host Riot Fest has nothing to do with gender,” the statement added.

This is the latest in a series of issues with NWSL teams not appearing to receive stadium priority, which is the norm for most men’s teams.

Earlier this year, Angel City FC unexpectedly postponed its home opener at BMO Stadium by one day, due to an “unforeseen scheduling conflict.” Although Angel City has not clarified the source of the conflict, it is believed to be a rival event at the Exhibition Center, which BMO Stadium shares with several museums.

Last October, it was announced that San Diego FC, an MLS expansion team arriving in 2025, would take priority over the San Diego Wave FC when it came to scheduling.

San Diego State University athletic director John Wicker said it was simply a matter of San Diego FC talking to them first, according to the San Diego Union-Tribune. SDSU owns Snapdragon Stadium and the Wave shares it with the SDSU football team.

When asked about the issue during a press briefing in October, Wave head coach Casey Stoney didn’t seem happy about getting the second pick.

“All I can say is it frustrates me again knowing that we are the established team in the market and a men’s team comes in and gets the first pick on the schedule,” Stoney said. “It’s the same thing. I’ve been dealing with this problem for 41 years. I’ve been in this game for a long time. So, it’s unfortunate that this continues to happen.”

The Red Stars currently share SeatGeek Stadium with Chicago Fire II, the Chicago Fire’s MLS Next Pro team. The Fire’s first team previously played at SeatGeek before playing at the Chicago Bears’ Soldier Field in 2019.

It is not yet clear what the Red Stars will do to adapt to this sudden change. A return to Wrigley Field is unlikely, however: the Chicago Cubs will play a home game that evening against the Washington Nationals.