Manchester United in Chicago

A friend of mine is going. Said the prices he paid for them are hovering around $150 a seat. Rio, Ruud, Scholes in Chi-town? Seems so strange. Maybe they should play the Cubs or have Ruud fire shots at Steve Bartman for an hour. I'll be more than happy if they take some attention away from the Cubs who are making this town more tense and wondering what if than the Cuban Missile Crisis had done.

RocketBoy

 

To be honest I really don't know about Rio. I know he was suspended by haven't checked up on it lately. I love the US, I will bleed Red, White and Blue till the day I die. However I hate the local sports scene. Nascar vs F1? I just think that watching a Nascar race can be the same as looking at the highway. Nothing happens and even though the drivers are good old boys with funny and open personalities, the images of gap toothed hicks comes to mind. Its hard to follow F1 and I like to keep up with that. So I check out the latest on ITV's website. As for soccer, the lack of attention is disheartening. Whatever news I catch now is from small tickers on international news sites or the three line blurbs on USAToday or similar sites. I figured to put all my attention into F1. The MLS' Fire is a great team, and their first championship went unoticed. The fact we have had one of the most exciting players in the game, Beasley, also went unoticed when he was here. When the world cup game was played here, the locals thought it was more of a burden as the major streets shut down and the 1-0 victory by Germany in the last few minutes seem liked it lacked action. When Man U comes here, it will appear as if there is quite a buzz, but it will only be from visitors. Not one of the local medias, print or radio, has mentioned it. Those who appriciate just how powerful European soccer is in terms of skill, money, international fame, will understand its value come game time. Those who live here in Chi-town will not cause they really don't care.

Where are you staying while in Chicago? Have you ever visited the city before? Its a great place, just not a soccer town. Although the best US player in Europe right now, Brian McBride, is actually from a Chicago suburb: Buffalo Grove.

RocketBoy

 

Well, to give you guys some idea, this is the first I've heard of this. Tell me more...We should plan some sort of get-together.

 

Old Comiskey was fun--much better than what they have now. As far as hotels near Soldier Field, the big problem you're going to have is that those are the more expensive places to stay due to being right downtown. Plus, hotels are generally pretty full all summer long, so rates never really drop. There's an Embassy Suites on Ohio Ave. which I know offers free breakfast. Plus you could probably get a corner suite big enough for 6. That's what we do in Indy.

 

You'd have to hurry because all of the hotels will be sacked from people not just out of state but even country. Closest to Soldier Field and with awesome views would be the Hilton on Michigan Ave. Near what we now call the Museum Campus ( one plus about Chicago is a multi square mile park that holds Soldier Field, and a few places the kids would like such as the Adler Planetarium, Shedd Aquarium, Field Museum. ) Hilton was in the Harrison Ford movie, the Fugitive and during the last world cup Clinton stayed there along with the president of Nigeria I believe. I am certain this will be overbooked. Or go for broke and aim at the Drake, our most prestigious hotel. If your wife likes to shop its on Michigan Ave, our NY version of 5th ave. I will look up some general hotels if you like, these are the two that stick out in my mind the most. You can always PM me for privacy sake and to discuss budget, restaurants, places for the kids to visit.

RocketBoy

Gilles27, Jack, would be a better bet to ask. I live out in the burbs and he is our local karting champ at the moment.

 

Michael, I just checked on Orbitz, and 2-star hotels are showing about $100/night, and 4-5-stars are $150-$200+/ night. I work in the downtown area, so if you'd like me to check out one of them I'd be happy to help.

 

If you search on Orbitz, check out Hotel 71. It's just off of Michigan Avenue, a 1/2 block south of the river. It's supposed to be fairly nice and their rates seem pretty low. I'll check back later.

 

The Hilton Garden is a couple blocks farther north. A great location as well, since it's in the heart of the Mag Mile shopping area. If that's a good thing. I wouldn't be surprised if the hotels/city will be running shuttles to Soldier Field. It's about a mile, which is walkable depending on the age of the kids.

 

Anyone know if they will be playing in N.Y area? Im remembering George Best playing back when i lived in England.
Thanks, Dave

 

By the way, depending on when any of you visitors are coming, the Cubs will only be in town up through Thursday, July 22. If you're here, let me know and I can probably locate some tickets.

 

Hotel 71 will be closer by about 3-4 blocks.

 

Great! What are your travel dates? This map from their site gives a little idea of where you'll be, with Michigan Ave. being the main drag.

 

Soldier Field, its just south on Lake Shore Drive. It is just close enough to get a cabbie really mad if you have him drive you to the game because you might be able to see it from your hotel, though it is a few miles away. Check to see if your hotel is shuttling people there. If you have young little children, they wouldn't be able to walk from the hotel to the stadium.
You are in the prime shopping and eating area. Your wife is going to love Michigan Ave. If you have any daughters they would love to check out a place called American Girl, north on Michigan right near the Water Tower and John Hancock Buildings. If you have some boys, as mentioned there are a lot of neat museums near the Museum Campus. Best one for little guys might be the Museum of Science and Industry, which has a WW2 german submarine and some airplanes lying about but is way south and you must have transportation to and back. Half way between your hotel and the stadium is the Chicago Museum of art and Buckingham Fountain.

RocketBoy

 

Don't break the poor guy You'll be right near Navy Pier, which is a big tourist attraction. The beach is pretty close as well.