Chicago Red Stars slam ‘unfair’ decision to schedule concert on same day as NWSL match

September’s Riot Fest concert will directly conflict with the Red Stars’ home match against the San Diego Wave

Just days after the Chicago Red Stars set an NWSL record for single-game attendance, a stadium scheduling conflict has resulted in a public battle between the team and the Village of Bridgeview.

The municipality, as owners of SeatGeek Stadium, has essentially double-booked the property on September 21, when the Red Stars are schedule to host the San Diego Wave in a match set to be nationally televised on Ion.

That date falls in the middle of Riot Fest, a concert event announced on Wednesday that will run from September 20-22.

Club president Karen Leetzow slammed the decision to book a conflicting event.

“It is unfair and unfortunate to have our club put in this situation, shining a light on the vast discrepancies in the treatment of women’s professional sports versus men’s professional sports,” said Leetzow in a statement.

“We are committed to ensuring our players and fans have a first-rate experience on and off the pitch, and we are working diligently to find a solution that will ensure our September 21st game is a success.”

The news follows a long history in the NWSL of scheduling conflicts that boil down to clubs not having their own stadiums.

Angel City FC had to reschedule its 2024 home opener over a conflict with events at Exposition Park. In years past the Washington Spirit were obliged by the NWSL to play a 2021 home game against the Houston Dash in Texas over concerns about the readiness of Segra Field.

The Chicago Tribune reported on Wednesday that the Red Stars are considering legal action against the Village of Bridgeview. Per the report, Bridgeview mayor Steven Landek only informed the club of the conflict in early May, and the club says it received no further information from village officials.

Complicating matters is the fact that Riot Fest is not taking place in SeatGeek Stadium, but rather around it. The club and municipality appear to have differing views over just what that entails, with the Village of Bridgeview releasing a statement insisting it has the contractual right “to host concurrent events at the facility.”

The Village of Bridgeview went on to accuse the Red Stars of “failing to respond” to a notification in April and said that the decision to schedule another event at SeatGeek Stadium “had nothing to do with gender.”

Per the Tribune’s reporting, the Red Stars believe that access to parking for both teams, staffers, and fans would be a major problem, as would noise from a concert taking place so close to the open-air stadium.

The conflict comes just days after the Red Stars set an NWSL attendance record of 35,038 in its first-ever game at Wrigley Field, the home of the Chicago Cubs.

The Cubs have a home game against the Washington Nationals on September 21, but even if the schedule were clear, setting up a return to the baseball stadium would be cost-prohibitive. Solutions like Guaranteed Rate Field, home of the Chicago White Sox, would be similarly expensive, particularly due to the time crunch involved.

The Red Stars’ lease at SeatGeek Stadium ends after the 2025 season, and the club’s new owners have repeatedly said they do not view the venue — located well south of the city of Chicago, with minimal options in terms of public transit — as a long-term solution.

In 2019, MLS’s Chicago Fire paid a whopping $60 million to get out of its SeatGeek Stadium lease. The Fire have since played at cavernous Soldier Field, home of the NFL’s Chicago Bears.

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