That Manchester United could play one of their preseason friendlies in Chicago should not be all that surprising. Chicago is a major media market with several large stadiums capable of containing enormous crowds. That the stadium ManU may play in is Wrigley Field is considerably more surprising.
Manchester United May Play At Wrigley Field This Summer
Wrigley Field hasn’t hosted a soccer match since 1984, but it has played host to sports other than baseball as recently as November when Northwestern and the University of Illinois played a football game there. Hot Time In Old Town’s Tweed Thornton points out that there were plenty of people who criticized that game, but thinks soccer is destined to be played at Wrigley sooner or later.
Tweed points to the flexible nature of soccer fields and the general idea of Wrigley being a nice stage for a match as reasons for this belief. The most compelling reason he points out, though, is Wrigley’s owners.
For better or worse, nothing suggests Tom Ricketts would be against this notion and in fact everything suggests he would lock this in tomorrow if the contract was presented to him tonight.
As an outsider, it would seem to make a lot more sense to continue hosting major soccer matches at Chicago’s Soldier Field. About 20,000 more people fit in the stands at the football stadium than the baseball stadium, and the seats are already configured for a sport that moves in the same direction as soccer. But you could have said the same thing about Gillette Stadium vs. Fenway Park, but that didn’t stop Celtic from playing Sporting CP in an exhibition there last summer.
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