The Chicago Fire has been sold to a private investment group from L.A. for the estimated price of $30 million, according to the Chicago Sun-Times. Andell Holdings now becomes the sole owner of the club, having purchased it from Anschutz Entertainment Group, owner of the L.A. Galaxy and the Houston Dynamo. Last year, AEG sold D.C. United for the reported price of $33 million. Andell said it doesn’t plan to make any immediate changes.
”The purchase reflects a passion for what is the global game as well as our business judgment that it’s a good investment,” said Andrew Hauptman, the company’s chairman and CEO. “We’re looking forward to seeing it grow in the U.S. further, and to be able to do it in one of the truly great sports cities of the country was very attractive to me. Presently, there are no other sports teams we are considering buying.”
Andell says it has no plans to make immediate changes. Perhaps that’s because the Fire has been playing well recently, particularly since the arrival of Cuauhtemoc Blanco. However, if the Fire (7-10-5) falls out of the playoff race, a few heads might roll. Hauptman says he’ll be present for next week’s home game against the New York Red Bulls. Chicago lost its last game to the Red Bulls, 1-0.