Stop us if you’ve heard this before, but the Chicago White Sox are having a “serious” discussion about moving from Guaranteed Rate Field.
According to a report in the Chicago Sun-Times, the Chicago White Sox are negotiating with property developer Related Midwest about building a new ballpark a couple of miles north in an area called “The 78.”
As usual, talks like this have come up because of money. Or, more specifically, revenue to be made in and around the stadium.
Guaranteed Rate Field is surrounded by a neighborhood and adding restaurants, shops and other forms of nightlife are limited. The new location would give the team more of an opportunity to have that sort of thing as part of the gameday experience. Here is a rendering of the proposed stadium.
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Chicago White Sox have discussed moving before
The White Sox have a lease agreement with the Illinois Sports Facilities Authority for Guaranteed Rate Field through the 2029 season. Team chairman Jerry Reinsdorf has been vocal in his desire for a different facility.
Rumors began swirling in August that Reinsdorf was planning to move the team to Nashville, which has been No. 1 on the list of MLB expansion cities for a while.
The White Sox have been playing in the South Side of Chicago since 1900 when it played at the 39th Street Grounds. It moved in 1910 when Comiskey Park opened. They played there until 1990 when they moved across the street into the “new Comiskey Park” before it was renamed Guaranteed Rate Field in 2016.
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In 1988 the new park was approved by the state legislature after a midnight deadline to keep the team from moving to St. Petersburg, Florida.
The team says it wants to say in Chicago, which is why it is negotiating for the new site.
The team and Chicago mayor Brandon Johnson released a joint statement that read:
“Mayor Brandon Johnson and White Sox chairman Jerry Reinsdorf met to discuss the historic partnership between the team and Chicago and the team’s ideas for remaining competitive in Chicago in perpetuity,” the statement said. “The partnership between the city and the team goes back more than a century and the Johnson administration is committed to continuing this dialogue moving forward.”
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