CHICAGO, Ill.(Dec. 18, 2012) – The Chicago Fire Soccer Club announced Tuesday that the Fire will host the New England Revolution for Opening Day at Toyota Park on Saturday, March 9. The Men in Red will begin their 16th season on the road the previous week when they visit two-time defending MLS Cup Champions LA Galaxy at the Home Depot Center on Sunday, March 3. The Fire will also take on Eastern Conference foe Sporting Kansas City at LiveStrong Sporting Park on Saturday, March 16 to round out the first three matches of the club’s 2013 campaign.
Chicago Fire Season Tickets and 2012 Holiday Packs, which give fans the opportunity to witness the Men in Red in action on Opening Day while donning the four Fire hats and four pairs of Fire gloves included in the pack, are available by calling 1-888-MLS-FIRE, via Ticketmaster or by heading to the club’s official website at www.Chicago-Fire.com.
The Fire are 9-3-3 on Opening Day at home dating back to 1998. For only the third time in the club history, the Fire will host a MLS home opener in the month of March. The Fire are undefeated in home openers against the Revolution with a 2-0-3 record.
In 2012, Frank Klopas led his squad to a 17-11-6 record as the Fire returned to the playoffs for the first time since 2009.
Times, broadcast details and additional information for the Fire’s 16th Home Opener will be included in the entire regular season schedule, which will be announced upon its completion in the coming weeks.
Similar to 2012, each club will again play 34 games during the regular season.
The dates of the 2013 home openers for all 19 MLS clubs are below:
WEEK 1
Saturday, March 2:
Philadelphia Union vs. Sporting Kansas City (PPL Park)
FC Dallas vs. Colorado Rapids (FC Dallas Stadium)
Vancouver Whitecaps FC vs. Toronto FC (BC Place)
Houston Dynamo vs. D.C. United (BBVA Compass Stadium)
Seattle Sounders FC vs. Montreal Impact (CenturyLink Field)
Chivas USA vs. Columbus Crew (The Home Depot Center)
Sunday, March 3:
Portland Timbers vs. New York Red Bulls (Jeld-Wen Field)
LA Galaxy vs. Chicago Fire (The Home Depot Center)
San Jose Earthquakes vs. Real Salt Lake (Buck Shaw Stadium)
WEEK 2
Saturday, March 9:
Toronto FC vs. Sporting Kansas City (Rogers Centre)
D.C. United vs. Real Salt Lake (RFK Stadium)
Colorado Rapids vs. Philadelphia Union (Dick’s Sporting Goods Park)
Chicago Fire vs. New England Revolution (Toyota Park)
WEEK 3
Saturday, March 16:
New York Red Bulls vs. D.C. United (Red Bull Arena)
Sporting Kansas City vs. Chicago Fire (LiveStrong Sporting Park)
Real Salt Lake vs. Colorado Rapids (Rio Tinto Stadium)
Montreal Impact vs. Toronto FC (Olympic Stadium)
Columbus Crew vs. San Jose Earthquakes (Crew Stadium)
WEEK 4
Saturday, March 23:
New England Revolution vs. FC Dallas (Gillette Stadium)
