Sparring continues over Riot Fest, Red Stars game site

BRIDGEVIEW, Ill. — While fans of Riot Fest are excited for the festival’s relocation to SeatGeek Stadium, a conflict continues to boil over between the Village of Bridgeview and the Chicago Red Stars, who call the stadium home and have a nationally-televised match scheduled on the same day as the music festival.

“It’s more convenient here,” said Ashley Madrigal, a fan of Riot Fest. “There’s more space and parking available now. I think, for Riot Fest, it will be better.”

The festival, which was officially relocated from Chicago’s Douglass Park to SeatGeek Stadium after an announcement Wednesday, is set to take place at the same time as the Red Stars’ game against the San Diego Wave on Sept. 21.

Ray Hanania, a village spokesperson, said the contract the village has with the Red Stars states the village has the right to host concurrent events at the facility, and informed the team in April about the possibility of the need to move the match, but said the Red Stars did not respond.

Team President Karen Leetzow denied that statement, saying the team did reach out for clarification and received no follow up or logistical support from the village, before issuing a statement that said the situation highlights the disparity between men’s and women’s sports.

“It is unfair and unfortunate to have our club put in this situation, shining a light on the vast discrepancies in the treatment of women’s professional sports versus men’s professional sports,” Leetzow’s statement reads. “We are committed to ensuring our players and fans have a first-rate experience on and off pitch, and we are working diligently to find a solution that will ensure our September 21st game is a success.”

Hanania fired back after Leetzow issued her statement and said, “The Village’s decision to schedule Riot Fest had nothing to do with gender.  As stated, the Village has held concurrent events at the Stadium during games for the Fire, the Hounds, and the Red Stars in the past. 

“The Village’s decision was strictly based on maximizing revenues from the Stadium for the Village taxpayers.”

While public barbs were traded between the two sides, the Red Stars’ president also said the stadium lease states the venue must be available for the specified use, which includes parking and accessibility.

Other concerns the team has put forward include noise interfering with referees’ ability to call the match, and the Red Stars said they may be pursuing legal action in response.

The event-scheduling conflict came shortly after the team set a National Women’s Soccer League attendance record, where 35,038 fans showed up for their match against Bay FC at Wrigley Field on June 9.

Ald. Monique Scott (24th Ward) and Riot Fest organizers blamed the Chicago Park District for the festival’s move to the southwest suburbs, an issue exacerbated by a delayed permit approval process that was pushed from April to June.

“If you’re doing a concert for 50,000 people a day, 150k people in a venue for a weekend, you need more than June to prepare for a concert of that magnitude,” Scott said.

Since 2015, Riot Fest has generated more than $14 million in revenue for the Chicago Park District, with the festival also serving as a boon to local small businesses, and an opportunity for youth in the community to learn about the music business.

“We had an entrepreneurship program,” Scott said. “So, youth were able to shadow some of the cameramen, the media, working behind stage — All of that [was] taken away.”

Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson has reached out to Riot Fest organizers to see if the relationship is salvageable, meanwhile in Bridgeview, it is still uncelar if the Red Stars’ game on Sept. 21 will be moved to another date or venue, or if there is a way to have both events at the same time.