For just the third time in the Chicago Fire’s 19-year history, the club will begin a Major League Soccer regular season on their home turf, hosting fellow Eastern Conference foe and second-year MLS side New York City FC Sunday at Toyota Park.
On The Air
The match kicks off at 1 p.m. CT and will be featured during a three-and-a-half-hour broadcast window on Comcast SportsNet Chicago, beginning at noon CT with an airing of Chicago Fire All-Access. On-site coverage from Toyota Park begins with the Pregame Show at 12:30 p.m. followed by kickoff. After the final whistle, stay locked into CSN Chicago for postgame coverage until 3:30 p.m.
WATCH: 10 Things To Know About Matchday Experience
Resuming its post in 2016 as the regional television home of the Chicago Fire Soccer Club in 2016, CSN on Sunday will air the first of 28 Fire matches slated for the network this season. Veteran play-by-play man Dan Kelly returns to the broadcast booth for his seventh Chicago Fire campaign and is joined in the booth this season by Chicago Fire Ring of Fire member Frank Klopas. Prominent national soccer reporter Paul Tenorio rounds out the team with sideline coverage. On five occasions, CSN also will broadcast alternative Spanish-language telecasts exclusively on CSN+.
New Faces
Late in 2015, the Chicago Fire welcomed a pair of dynamic leaders charged with building the club’s future in general manager Nelson RodrÃguez and, on Nov. 24, head coach Veljko Paunovic. The 38-year-old Paunovic, who before coming to the Fire impressively guided his native Serbia to the 2015 FIFA U-20 World Cup championship, is joined on the sideline by assistant coaches Marko Mitrovic and Logan Pause as well as goalkeeper coach Aleksandar Saric.
On the player side, 13 members of the Men In Red are candidates to make their MLS regular season debut in a Fire shirt on Sunday. For a complete list of players to move in and out of the club, check out the Chicago Fire Transaction Tracker.
The Fire concluded their preseason schedule undefeated, capturing the Simple Invitational tournament in Portland with a 2-0 victory against the host Timbers on Saturday evening. Arturo Alvarez and Gilberto scored for the Fire, who won all three of their preseason matches against MLS competition.
For Starters
• This is only the third time the Fire will open the season at home. The last time the Fire opened the season at home was April 7, 2007 against the New England Revolution where the Fire emerged victorious courtesy of a fourth minute goal by current assistant coach Logan Pause. Prior to that, the Fire drew the Revolution 1-1 on April 13, 2003.
• Chicago is 9-4-5 all-time in home-opening matches.
• Veljko Paunovic is striving to become the second Chicago Fire coach to take three points from his MLS regular season debut; only Bob Bradley was able to turn the trick in the club's MLS opener on March 21, 1998.
• The Fire are 0-4-2 in MLS season openers over the last six seasons, with the club's last opening day win coming in a 2009 road victory over FC Dallas.
CHICAGO FIRE vs. NYCFC
• Like the Men In Red, NYCFC is opening the season with a head coach making his MLS debut, with the Bronx-based club now under the direction of longtime international standout Patrick Vieira.
• The Fire are 1-0-1 all-time against NYCFC. David Accam scored the lone goal, his first in a Fire shirt, in a 1-0 win at Toyota Park on April 24, 2015 and Razvan Cocis also tallied his first Fire goal against NYCFC as the two sides split the points with a 2-2 draw at Yankee Stadium on May 15, 2015.
• In the two matches between the two sides, the Fire have outscored NYCFC 3-2. All three Fire goals came in the first 30 minutes of the matches while NYCFC’s strikes have been in the final 15 minutes of each half.
• Download the complete MLS Game Guide (PDF)
