The full 2018 schedule will wait, but for now we know the first three games the Fire will play, including the home opener.
Major League Soccer announced the home opener for all 23 teams on Tuesday and the Fire will begin the season March 3 at the Colorado Rapids. The home opener at Toyota Park will follow the next weekend on March 10 against Sporting Kansas City. The Fire will also travel to play Minnesota on March 17 for the Loons' home opener.
Kickoff at Dick's Sporting Goods Park in Commerce City, Colorado, will be 8 p.m. on the opening Saturday of the season. Colorado is 14-3-5 is home openers all time and the two teams also opened the 2010 season in Colorado, which was a 2-2 draw.
Kickoff times for the Fire's home opener and the game in Minnesota remain unannounced. The Fire's trip to Minnesota will be the team's first with the only meeting between the 2017 expansion team and the Fire coming at Toyota Park.
This opening slate of games gives the Fire a good opportunity to get a strong start to the season. Colorado was one of the worst teams in the league in 2017. Minnesota also failed to make the playoffs, although the Loons did win in Toyota Park in late August.
Around the league, a pair of notable matchups during the opening weekend include an Eastern Conference final rematch between Toronto and Columbus, which will be the first game of the season, and the debut of Los Angeles FC, which will take place Sunday, March 4, at Seattle.
The rest of the schedule will be announced in January.
Chicago Fire
As the offseason marches on, the Fire avoided losing any players in the expansion draft for LAFC and also passed in the waiver and re-entry drafts. Stage 2 of the re-entry draft takes place Thursday and the next notable date on the offseason calender it the draft combine, which begins Jan. 13.