The billionaire owner of the Chicago Fire FC has agreed to spend $650 million of his own money to bankroll a 22,000-seat, soccer-only stadium on the vacant South Loop parcel known as “The 78,” but tens of millions of public dollars would be needed to ready the long-dormant site for development.

Joe Mansueto, founder and chairperson of Morningstar, a Chicago-based financial services firm, described the open-air arena he hopes to complete and open in time for the 2028 season as “more than just a stadium.”

It’ll be a place for “fans of all ages, backgrounds and neighborhoods to celebrate the beautiful game” that is soccer “right in the heart of our city,” Mansueto said in a full-page advertisement that ran in Tuesday’s Chicago Sun-Times and Chicago Tribune. “Soccer is the world’s game and a

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