The Chicago Stars are set to say goodbye to Bridgeview on Nov. 2, possibly for good.
The Stars announced on Sept. 3 that they will play their 2026 season at Northwestern University’s Martin Stadium on the Evanston lakefront.
What happens beyond that is unknown. But Stars management has expressed unhappiness with making fans fight traffic to get to 20,000-seat SeatGeek Stadium in Bridgeview and is believed to want its own stadium in Chicago eventually.
The Stars have struggled to gain traction in Bridgeview, but that could be a function as the team’s hard times on the field as much as traffic issues. Chicago is 1-9-8 this season and 13th in the 14-team NWSL, running through four coaches. The Stars have trended up lately, though, with five straight draws and seven ties in their last eight matches.
Meanwhile, the Martin Field season is being called a “transformational move.”
The Stars will have a dress rehearsal for their new home, which holds 12,000 fans, on Sept. 7 when they host Orlando.
“This move to Northwestern Medicine Field at Martin Stadium in 2026 marks a historic step for the club and a new era for the Chicago Stars,” said Stars president Karen Leetzow in a statement. “This is just one step in a series of changes.”
The Stars, known as the Red Stars until a name change this year, moved from Benedictine University in Lisle to Bridgeview in 2016.
At the time, the soccer-specific stadium housed the Chicago Fire, which was a tenant from 2006-2019 and still plays a smattering of games there when it has conflicts with the Chicago Bears at Soldier Field.
The stadium now is scheduled to have two athletic tenants next season: the Chicago Fire II and the Chicago Hounds rugby team.
Over the years the stadium has been home to international competitions and friendlies. Some of the teams who have played there include Chelsea F.C., Tottenham Hotspur F.C., A.C. Milan, Everton, C.D. Guadalajara, Club America,and Santos Laguna.
The stadium also hosts concerts and festivals, which can seat up to 28,000 fans. Among the acts who have played there are the Dave Matthews Band, Jimmy Buffett, Kelly Clarkson, Kenny Chesney, Bob Dylan, Kiss and Ozzy Osbourne.
If this is indeed a permanent goodbye to the Stars, there will be just three more times for fans to watch them in Bridgeview. They are scheduled to host Portland at 2 p.m. on Sept. 14, Utah at 3 p.m. on Oct. 5 and Angel City at a time to be announced on Nov. 2.
The team has brought some of the best female soccer players on the planet to town, including Alyssa Naeher, Mallory Swanson and Christen Press. But what happened on the field was overshadowed by controversy surrounding longtime coach Rory Dames, who was banned for life by the NWSL for alleged verbal abuse toward his players.
Then-owner Arnim Whisler was caught in the crossfire as he was accused of turning a blind eye toward the scandal and there were demands that he sell the club.
In 2021, Whisler had started an ownership group that included Orland Park native and former NFL player Michael Schofield and his wife, hockey star Kendall Coyne Schofield.
In 2022, reports of the abuse investigation surfaced and Stars players sent a letter asking Whisler to sell the club.
A group led by Laura Ricketts, part of the family that owns the Cubs, finalized a deal to buy the team in September 2023 and there quickly were hints that one of the changes the franchise wanted to make was to move out of Bridgeview and into the city.