A 110-room Amerisuites Hotel already is on the drawing board,but restaurants, theaters and other retail developments on the siteof a former Venture store are expected to follow with the Fire'sdecision. The team, which will return to Soldier Field for the nexttwo seasons, had drawn 13,500 fans per game during its two years inwest suburban Naperville while the lakefront landmark wasundergoing a $600-million makeover for its main tenant, theBears.

Although the village will own the stadium, the soccer team willbe the sole tenant on a long-term lease."It is important to have astadium where we can control our own destiny," says Fire generalmanager Peter Wilt. "In addition to the obvious need to controlrevenue streams, it is critical that we control scheduling, fanservices and additional programming."

A memorandum of understanding is expected to be approved nextmonth by village officials, paving the way for a groundbreakingthis fall. Village trustees must sign off on a $40-million bondissue to pay for construction.