The White Sox’ home opener is Thursday, and fans may be wondering whether it’s one of their last seasons in Bridgeport.
Why it matters: The Sox and developer Related Midwest are considering building a stadium/entertainment complex on the South Branch of the Chicago River, which would upend decades of tradition on 35th and hurt businesses reliant on Guaranteed Rate Field.
The big picture: The team is flirting with moving to the South Loop as the Bears appear to narrow in on the city’s lakefront as a site for a new stadium.
- Attendance at Sox games ranks very low compared with that of other clubs. Last year they drew a little more 1.6 million, about 2 million fewer attendees than the Dodgers and Yankees each pulled in, per ESPN.
- The Sox also drew a million fewer fans than the Cubs did in 2023.
Catch up quick: Speculation surfaced in January when sources told the Sun-Times that Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf met with Related Midwest to talk about possible plans to move the team to The 78, which developers are pitching as a hotspot for residential, restaurants, shopping and, in this case, an MLB team.
- The move would give Sox fans a larger playground before and after games, more akin to Wrigley Field or what the Braves have done in Atlanta.
- Sure, Bridgeport has bars and grills to grab a beer or bite, but The 78 developers envision strolling the Riverwalk outside the stadium and looking up at sleek buildings from the seats.
By the numbers: A new stadium could cost about $1 billion, reports say. Included in Reinsdorf’s plans:
- Revenue from the city’s 2% hotel tax, which is now paying off the debt accrued by the Illinois Sports Facility Authority (IFSA), the state body that paid for the current Sox stadium as well as renovations to Soldier Field, per Crain’s.
- $400 million in the state’s share of sales tax collected from The 78, which now is vacant land collecting no sales tax.
- Extending bonds from IFSA, a move the state legislature would have to approve.
The latest: Former Gov. Pat Quinn filed paperwork yesterday to get an advisory referendum on the November ballot asking whether taxpayers should pay for the new stadium, NBC reported.
What they’re saying: “The addition of significant market and affordable housing, retail, and a world class baseball stadium and concert venue can be the sort of catalytic investment the city needs,” Ald. Pat Dowell (3rd) has said about the move.
- A spokesperson for Mayor Brandon Johnson did not respond to Axios’ request for comment.
The other side: “Many of us sports fans, we all want to see the team succeed, but these are private businesses. And we’ve seen other teams be able to support their own stadiums privately. That would be ideal here,” Gov. JB Pritzker said at a press conference last month.
What’s next: The Sox’s current lease at the publicly owned Guaranteed Rate Field isn’t up until 2028, so a move is not imminent.
- Until then, first pitch against the Tigers is today at 3:10pm in Bridgeport.
