The City Council on Thursday approved the Chicago Fire FC’s plan to build a $650 million soccer stadium at a vacant South Loop lot known as The 78.

The 22,000-seat stadium is being bankrolled by billionaire Chicago Fire owner Joe Mansueto, who pitched the new stadium project in June , but tens of millions of public dollars would still be needed to prepare the long-dormant site for development.

City Council members, without debate, unanimously passed a zoning amendment allowing the new stadium to be built. Mansueto, a Chicago native who bought the Fire in 2019, hopes the soccer-only stadium will be ready in time for the 2028 season.

The team currently plays at Soldier Field, where they moved to full time in 2020, after playing for more than a decade at SeatGeek Stadium [formerly Toyota P

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