White Sox Reportedly In ‘Serious Talks’ To Land New Home In South Loop
The White Sox are reportedly in “serious talks” about building a new stadium in the South Loop. According to a report from the Chicago Sun-Times the new stadium would be built on land at Clark Street and Roosevelt Road.
The land is known as “The 78” and is located just south of downtown Chicago. According to the report, sources told the Sun-Times that the negotiations were for a baseball-only stadium and that the Illinois Sports Facilities Authority, which owns Guaranteed Rate Field, is not currently involved in the discussions.
The White Sox current agreement with the Illinois Sports Facilities Authority is a very team-friendly deal and places a heavy burden on the taxpayers. The city of Chicago and the state of Illinois contribute $5 million annually to help fund the ballpark. The White Sox only pays $1.5 million in annual rent and controls revenue from ticket sales, concessions, parking, and merchandise.
In 2009 the Illinois Sports Facilities Authority paid roughly $7 million to build ChiSox Bar & Grill, a restaurant attached to the outside of the stadium. The White Sox only chipped in $1 million for the project, according to a previous report from the Chicago Tribune.
Under the agreement, the White Sox didn’t have to pay a fee to use the stadium until 2008. The deal rewards the White Sox for poor attendance. According to the Chicago Tribunes report the White Sox must pay a fee on each ticket sold over 1.93 million in paid attendance, a total the White Sox have reached just once (2022) in the last decade. In the first ten years of the lease, the club did not have to pay rent if annual attendance fell below $1.5 million.
The 78 is owned by Related Midwest, which describes itself as a premier developer and manager of luxury residences in Chicago and the Midwest. Previous projects have included Park Tower at 800 North Michigan.
The proposed property includes 62 acres of undeveloped land stretching south to 16th Street. A colorful cast of characters has already tried to build property on The 78. This includes Tony Rezko, who spent eight years in prison for his ties in a kickback scheme with former Governor Rod Blagojevich; Nadhmi Auchi, an Iraqi billionaire who was convicted of accepting illegal commissions in an oil deal in France; and Felix H. Sater, a Russian-born New York developer who has connections to Donald Trump and was under federal investigation for interference in the 2016 presidential election.
White Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf has explored moving the team in years past. In 1991 Resinsdorf threatened to move the White Sox to St. Petersburg, Florida, before financing came together at the last minute to fund a new stadium which was built directly across from the original Comiskey Park.
Last August Reinsdorf alluded to possibly leaving Guaranteed Rate Field when the team’s lease expires in five years. Guaranteed Rate Field first opened in 1991 under the name Comiskey Park. It featured several nods to the old Comiskey including an “exploding scoreboard” and arched windows on the front facade.
The stadium underwent several renovations including removing over six thousand seats at the top of the upper deck. It was renamed U.S Cellular Field in 2003 and then changed to Guaranteed Rate Field in 2016 after the mortgage company purchased the naming rights in a 13-year deal with the team.
The stadium is surrounded by nearly 70 acres of parking lots, which could be one of the reasons the team is looking for more development surrounding the ballpark.
The land the White Sox are reportedly considering is close to the CTA’s Red, Green, and Orange lines at Roosevelt station which would in theory reduce the need for that much parking space. A source in the Sun-Times report also said that water taxis could be used as a way to help shuttle fans to games with the Chicago River located just west of the proposed site.