Chicago Bliss moving from Hoffman Estates to Bridgeview

The Chicago Bliss lingerie football team is moving out of the Sears Centre Arena in Hoffman Estates and making Toyota Park in Bridgeview their official home this year through the 2013 season, team and league officials announced Thursday.

“We want to thank (Sears Centre Manager) Ben Gibbs and his team at Sears Centre Arena for their support over the past couple of years,” Mitchell S. Mortaza, founder and chairman of the Lingerie Football League LLC, said in a statement that lauded what it said was near capacity crowds, media coverage and profitability in Hoffman Estates.

Neither the league nor the Bliss offered a reason for the move, though they did say they expect to draw more fans at the new location. Bridgeview is closer to the center of the metropolitan area and the statement did refer to “fans traveling over an hour outside the city” to games.

Hoffman Estates Mayor William McCleod said the idea that Bridgeview is a more desirable location is debatable. The impact on the Sears Centre is not great because the league only played two games there last year, he added.

“You hate to lose them,” he said. “We wish them well. What do you do? You just move on.”

The financial impact is minuscule and easily offset with other bookings, Gibbs said. The team may have perceived Bridgeview as being closer to the location of the fans it is hoping to reach, he said, adding that he hopes to get the team back at the Sears Centre someday.

“It was a fun event. We enjoyed having them,” he said.

The Bliss enjoyed winning seasons in the first two years of the league, including playoff berths both years and an appearance in 2009 Lingerie Bowl.

The Bliss will host their home opener at Toyota Park on Saturday, Sept. 3, against LFL expansion franchise Green Bay Chill. The home finale will be Saturday, Oct. 8. Toyota Park, which also is home to the Chicago Fire, is an outdoor stadium, unlike the Sears Centre.

Despite a down economy in 2009, the LFL’s inaugural season attendance was nearly 30 percent higher than projected, the league said. Last year’s season was bolstered by two expansion market teams and a national television deal with MTV Networks. Two more teams are launching this fall.