Bridgeview venue renamed SeatGeek Stadium at Ribbon-cutting
Bridgeview’s premiere sports and entertainment venue was renamed SeatGeek Stadium in a partnership with one of the country’s largest online ticketing and entertainment companies. The ribbon cutting was held on Thursday March 7, 2019
By Ray Hanania
Bridgeview’s multipurpose venue was renamed SeatGeek Stadium during a ribbon cutting ceremony Thursday, with officials from the village and venue promising to bring news entertainment performances. The venue is already home to the Chicago Fire and Chicago Red Stars.
SeatGeek is a mobile-focused ticketing platform that provides tickets to sporting events, entertainment and concert performances throughout the country. Formerly called “Toyota Park,” the new SeatGeek Stadium is the first to carry the online ticketing company’s name.
Officials from SeatGeek said they will work with Bridgeview to bring in more big name entertainers in coming years to the stadium which was first built in 2006 and is the home stadium for the Chicago Fire, who host its first home game this season on Saturday.
“This isn’t only a naming rights deal but also is a business partnership. Thanks to SeatGeek for leading the way with the technology and ticketing platform,” Bridgeview Mayor Steve Landek told a gathering of about 100 people at the stadium’s outdoor entrance.
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Ribbon cutting for the new SeatGeek Stadium renaming Thursday March 7, 2019. Photo courtesy of Rafa Alvarez/Chicago Fire Soccer Club
“Fans and business partners will both benefit. For the fans SeatGeek will make it an even easier place to come to interface and get ticketing, and our business partners, the Fire, the Red Stars and everyone else, making it a better place for all of our events like we have never done it before.”
Landek said that he believes the new partnership “will also bring a revitalized approach to booking and bringing music and sports entertainment to SeatGeek Stadium that we never have seen before.”
Major events scheduled in the coming months in addition to Chicago Fire and Red Star games includes music festival Chicago Open Air, the Nitro Circus Live and a visit from the new Premier Lacrosse League.
SeatGeek co-founder Russ D’Souza said SeatGeek is excited to come to Bridgeview.
“As you can imagine, today is a very exciting day for the team at SeatGeek as we cut the ribbon on our first ever stadium naming rights project. However for the venue and fans, this will be much more than just a naming rights partnership,” D’Souza said.
“As a new ticketing platform for SeatGeek Stadium, we see our name above the arch as a promise to fans that we will constantly work to deliver the best experience. This means we will not only make it easier for fans to access, share, sell and scan tickets, but we will also work with the village to bring additional entertainment to the venue.”
Nelson Rodríguez, President and General Manager of the Chicago Fire, applauded Landek and the Bridgeview board of trustees for “thinking out of the box” in bringing in SeatGeek, noting their partnerships with major great major league soccer teams.
“Now they will be a great partner to the village, to the Red Stars and to the Fire and we are excited to be with them,” Rodríguez said.
“It’s an exciting time for us as the home season begins on Saturday,” said Rodríguez. “I will reiterate the promise I made from the first day I came here, we will be a team that is representative of Chicago and Bridgeview and has its mindset of coming to work and giving its best on a daily basis.”
Chicago Red Stars owner Arnim Whisler said he is looking toward an even better season under the SeatGeek banner, predicting sweeping championships in the coming season.
“We plan to make history this year in SeatGeek Stadium. I will go on record as saying after a team that has made four straight playoffs with one of the best rosters of any club in the world, we intended to have a championship brought back to Chicagoland in SeatGeek Stadium,” Whisler said.
The Red Stars are one of the nations’ original women’s pro-soccer teams and a founding member of Women’s Professional Soccer league.
“We are the oldest and winning-est Women’s Pro Club in the US. Like the Cubs, the Blackhawks and the Bears and White Sox, original teams, we intend to be here for along time. We have the best players in the world in our league and on our team. It is a World Cup year, a very special year. Almost all of the major woman’s soccer players in the world are going to walk through these arches and play on this pitch both before and after the World Cup.”
Landek, D’Souza, Rodriguez and Whisler joined other Bridgeview officials in cutting the ribbon together.
The event was emcee’d by SeatGeek Stadium General Manager Jack Logon.
Click here to view the Youtube video of the ribbon cutting or use the widget below.
Hanania also writes about Middle East issues for the Arab News, and The Arab Daily News criticizing government policies in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
A critic of mainstream news media bias, Hanania advocates for peace & justice for Israel & Palestine, & the empowerment of Arabs in America.
Click here to listen to Ray's Political Podcast.
Hanania's columns are archived on his personal website at RayHanania.com. Hanania was named "Best Ethnic American Columnist" by the New America Media in November 2007, and is the 2009 recipient of the SPJ National Sigma Delta Chi Award for column writing.
Hanania is President/CEO of Urban Strategies Group which provides communications services to governments and private businesses, and hosts writing training workshops, and publishes books.
Email Ray Hanania at rghanania@gmail.com.
