It’s obviously very early days, but as it stands right now, the Chicago Fire FC would make the Major League Soccer postseason. First year manager Gregg Berhalter has guided the Fire to one win, one loss and one draw thus far, with a kickoff at Toronto FC coming up later this afternoon.
That’s good for a slot in the MLS Cup Playoff Wild Card/play-in game, and hey, after 8 years in the postseason desert, Fire fans will take that.
No matter what happens, this season is all about getting back to the postseason, and doing so by any means necessary. Down the line, Fire supporters can start dreaming about bigger things.
“One of the main reasons why I joined the Chicago Fire is it’s an ambitious club,” Berhalter said to RG at the 2025 season kickoff luncheon.
“You see our training ground, and you hear about a potential new stadium, and the owner’s been supportive since day one in trying to build a strong roster, and that’s been very compelling in trying to both attract players, and eventually fans to the stadium to watch us play.”
The first thing that Berhalter brought up was the training ground, and there is a good reason for that.
(Photo Credit: Chicago Fire FC)
He’s referring to the brand-new Chicago Fire FC training facility, the Endeavor Health Performance Center, which opened with a formal ribbon cutting event a couple weeks ago. It’s a state-of-the-art training center, with numerous first-rate amenities, and it’s located on west side of the city, close to the Illinois Medical District.
While most MLS owners typically save money by building their training facilities out in the suburbs, Chicago Fire FC Owner and Chairman Joe Mansueto kept his club within the city limits.
Mansueto also paid $65 million of his own money to break the lease, signed by the previous ownership group, to get the Fire out of exurban Bridgeview and back in the city.
So he truly is ambitious as it gets when it comes to investing in the future of the club. And the new training ground is the perfect symbol of that ambition.
This should be a massive boon to free agent recruiting and youth team development.
“It’s everything,” Berhalter said of the Fire’s new facility. “On a number of different levels. Our new training center is a game changer.
“When you think about recruiting players, all of a sudden you have one of the top facilities in the United States, if not the top facility, comparable to the biggest clubs in the world. It’s just an incredible facility.”
“Then you talk about the existing players that we have, being able to work with them and help develop them and keep them healthy and keep them recovered with all the facilities we have, whether that’s the field, the weight room, the cryotherapy or the sauna or the hot tubs.
“Recovery is a big part of it, the recovery room that we have. Looking after the players that we have and trying to get the most out of them and help them maximize their potential.”
Berhalter also articulated how important and advantageous it is to now have all layers of the club, that just the senior team, located in the same place.
“And the third step is the Academy and the second team,” Berhalter continued.
“To have the whole club integrated in the same pace and to see them train every day and work with the coaches and talk to the coaches and really try to get this vertical integration is really key to the whole club’s success.”
Paul M. Banks is the Founding Editor of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He currently contributes to USA Today’s NFL Wires Network, the Internet Baseball Writers Association of America and RG. His past bylines include the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune. His work has been featured in numerous outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, the Washington Post and ESPN. You can follow him on Linked In and Twitter.
