Chicago Fire Reveal 2013 MLS Regular Season Schedule

CHICAGO, Ill. (Jan. 9, 2013) – The Chicago Fire Soccer Club, in conjunction with Major League Soccer and its national television partners, unveiled the 2013 regular season schedule Wednesday. The Fire are slated to appear in a total of 16 nationally televised broadcasts throughout its 16th season of MLS play. The Fire kick off the 2013 MLS campaign when they visit two-time defending MLS Cup champions LA Galaxy on Sunday, March 3 at 4:00 p.m. CT (Univision). The Fire’s full schedule can be found at www.Chicago-Fire.com/schedule.
The Men in Red host Opening Night at Toyota Park when they welcome the New England Revolution on Saturday, March 9 at 6:30 p.m. CT (NBC Sports Network). Chicago Fire Season Tickets and #cf97withdrawals Winter Packs, which give fans the opportunity to witness the Men in Red in action on Opening Night 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.

DOWNLOAD PRINTABLE SCHEDULE (PDF)
The Fire will appear on national broadcast partners NBC Sports Network (eight games), ESPN (one game), ESPN2 (one game), Univision (one game) and UniMas (five games). The club will release its 2013 regional television schedule at a later date.
The Fire will again take part in the 10-team Eastern Conference, playing an unbalanced 34-match schedule. The breakdown of opponents is as follows:

• The Men in Red will play a total of 25 matches against other Eastern Conference clubs and a total of nine matches against Western Conference clubs.
• The Fire will face seven Eastern Conference opponents a total of three times, hosting D.C. United, Sporting Kansas City, Montreal Impact and New England Revolution twice at Toyota Park. The team will in turn visit the Columbus Crew, Houston Dynamo and Philadelphia Union twice each during 2013.
• The Fire will take on Eastern Conference foes New York Red Bulls and Toronto FC twice each (home and away).
• The Fire will face each Western Conference opponent one time over the course of the campaign, hosting Chivas USA, Colorado Rapids, Portland Timbers and San Jose Earthquakes at Toyota Park and going on the road against the LA Galaxy, Real Salt Lake, Vancouver Whitecaps FC, Seattle Sounders and FC Dallas.  

Other Schedule Highlights:

• Frank Klopas’ side will play back-to-back matches against Philadelphia, hosting the Union at Toyota Park on Saturday, May 11 at 12:30 p.m. CT (NBC Sports Network) prior to heading to the City of Brotherly Love the following week for a rematch at PPL Park in Chester, Pa. on Saturday, May 18 at 6:30 p.m. CT.
• The Fire open their 16^th season on the road against two-time defending MLS Cup Champions LA Galaxy at the Home Depot Center Sunday, March 3 at 4:00 p.m. CT (Univision).
• When opening the season on the road, the Fire are 4-4-5 since 1998.
• The Men in Red host Opening Night at Toyota Park against the New England Revolution on Saturday, March 9 at 6:30 p.m. CT (NBC Sports Network).
• The Fire are 9-3-3 on Opening Night at home dating back to 1998. For only the third time in 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.

• Breaking down the 34-game schedule by day of the week: The Fire have 20 Saturday match days, 9 at Toyota Park and 11 on the road. There are nine Sunday afternoon matches on the slate, five at home and four away. Two nationally televised matches on the NBC Sports Network will take place under the Friday night lights, including an Aug. 23 battle at Toyota Park against Sporting Kansas City at 7:30 p.m. CT and an Oct. 4 battle at RFK Stadium against D.C. United at 7:00 p.m. CT. In 2012, the Fire twice played Sporting KC on Friday, splitting the series 1-1-0. The Men in Red will play just three midweek matches, two at home and one away at Toronto FC on Wednesday, Sept. 11.
  
• March 16-17 is Rivalry Week with eight of the nine matches being played between regional foes. The Fire take on Midwestern neighbors Sporting Kansas City at LIVESTRONG Sporting Park on Saturday, March 16 at 2:00 p.m. CT (NBC Sports Network). This is the first of three matches between the two sides, with the final two matches in the series taking place at Toyota Park on Sunday, July 7 at 2:00 p.m. CT (ESPN) and Friday, Aug. 23 at 7:30 p.m. CT (NBC Sports Network).
  
• The Men in Red play host to Eastern Conference foes New York Red Bulls on Sunday, April 7 at 4:00 p.m. CT (ESPN2) before concluding the regular season at Red Bull Arena on Sunday, Oct. 27 at 4:00 p.m. CT (UniMas).
  
• For the first time since 2010, the Fire will conclude the MLS Regular Season on the road when they visit long-time rivals New York Red Bulls at Red Bull Arena in Harrison, N.J. on Sunday, Oct. 27 at 4:00 p.m. CT (UniMas).  
  
• When the Fire host the 2012 MLS Supporters Shield winners San Jose Earthquakes on Wednesday, July 3 at 7:30 p.m. CT, this will mark the first home game for the Men in Red during the Independence Day holiday since a 1-0 win over Sporting Kansas City on July 4, 2006.
  
• The team will play eight of its nationally televised matches on the NBC Sports Network, on which the Fire currently hold a 3-1-1 record.
  
• September will mark the busiest month in league play for the Men in Red as they are slated to play six matches, three at home and three away in Seattle (Sept. 7), Toronto (Sept. 11) and Columbus (Sept. 21).
  
• The Fire will face a quick turnaround three times this season with three midweek Wednesday matches. The Fire will host the Colorado Rapids Wednesday, June 19 before heading to Columbus, Ohio to take on the Crew on Saturday, June 22. Two weeks later on Wednesday, July 3, the Fire welcome the San Jose Earthquakes four days before hosting Sporting Kansas City on Sunday, July 7. The final time the Men in Red will count on a quick recovery is after heading to Toronto on Wednesday, Sept. 11 the Fire will return home to take on the New England Revolution on Saturday, Sept. 14 at 7:30 p.m. CT.

• Newly acquired Fire midfielder Joel Lindpere won’t have to wait long before facing his former team. Lindpere, who was traded to the Fire for an International Roster Spot on Jan. 4 from the New York Red Bulls, will welcome his former teammates to Toyota Park on Sunday, April 7 at 4:00 p.m. CT (ESPN2). Brazilian striker Maicon Santos, who was selected by the Fire in the first round of the 2012 MLS Re-Entry Draft will face his former team for the first time on Sunday, June 2 when the Fire host D.C. United at Toyota Park.