(rendering by proposed developer Related Midwest)
With the Rays' new ballpark seemingly close to a lock, and the Royals and A's ballpark situations sputtering, the Chicago White Sox now have their proverbial hand out to the State of Illinois as they enter the stadium sweepstakes. With the end of their current lease at Guaranteed Rate Field looming after the 2029 season, the White Sox and owner Jerry Reinsdorf are being pro-active by circulating some sexy renderings for a new ballpark that could completely transform Chicago. The proposed site is known as "The 78," which is a 62-acre vacant plot of land that was formerly home to a railyard for decades, and smack dab in the middle of downtown in the South Loop. It has been coveted by developers for years, as it represents the largest undeveloped parcel of land in downtown Chicago with worlds of potential and tax revenue. Billionaire Reinsdorf has "generously" offered to foot "some" of the bill for this project, but is largely hoping for a public subsidy of over $1.2B in the form of a 2% hotel tax.There are several practical reasons why the White Sox would want a new park, so that in and of itself isn't a surprise. The current location of Guaranteed Rate Field on the south side is horrible and very polarizing for both fans and visitors. It's not a great or safe neighborhood, and it is surrounded by nothing but parking lots and the Dan Ryan Expressway. Maintaining or building a new ballpark in its current location only benefits the residents and homes immediately west and walkable to the park, but is otherwise far from a destination for anyone else. Moving to a downtown site would afford a surrounding development opportunity that just doesn't exist on the South Side; it's far more lucrative currently for the team to maximize all of the parking lot revenue. The stadium itself was also completed in 1991 and had the misfortune of opening just before Camden Yards, which completely changed the game and started the retro ballpark craze. This caused what was then known as Comiskey Park II to become obsolete almost immediately. It also has some notable major design flaws that would be hard to remedy without a complete gut, such as the ridiculously steep upper bowl, and all of the vertical circulation being on the exterior outside the gates, which means that fans are restricted to only their ticketed level for the entire game. With the stadium lease being up in 5 1/2 years and Reinsdorf being 88 years old, logistically now is the time to kick this conversation into high gear.
However, practical reasons aside, the timing and manner in which the team is pursuing this could not be any worse. The Bears are also pursuing public financing for a new stadium at the same time and would surely be the preferred breadwinner if any public money is handed out at all, which is by no means a sure thing. Guaranteed Rate Field was 100% publicly financed and is only a little more than 30 years old, so the appetite for funding another new park is just not there, especially when $50M in bonding still exists on the current ballpark that would have to somehow be managed. Chicago might not even want to squander a major opportunity on this huge vacant parcel on another stadium, which have been proven in study after study to be a sinkhole for property taxes and do not spur desirable long-term development or growth. It's also just not a great look for a billionaire to be asking for a handout in year when his team is vying to surpass the 1962 Mets as the worst in the history of the modern era. It's a delicate balance to be sure, as these projects cost tons of time and capital, but the city could also be in a situation where the Bears, White Sox, and MLS Fire (who also play at Soldier Field) could all leave town, which Chicago would obviously like to avoid.
However inconceivable it might be for an octogenarian owner to threaten to move a team to another city or state, blackmail almost always works in these situations, so it will be interesting to see how this plays out over the next few years. After the Rays in 2028, it's far from certain what the next new MLB park will be to open, despite what the respective teams or the media tell you.
touch with baseball when his childhood heroes Robin Yount, Paul Molitor, and Jim Gantner retired but the Great Home Run Chase of 1998 reignited his passion. As a student at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Erik became involved with the campus chapter of Habitat for Humanity. With this group Erik traveled to Portland, OR and Baltimore, MD to work on construction projects and help the group raise $25,000 to partially sponsor a house in Milwaukee. Also at UWM, Erik met Peter Nagel. The two attended their first Brewers game together during Opening Weekend 2003. Despite their failure to ignite the coals at their first tailgate, the two had a blast and were soon making weekly trips to the ballpark. Erik has gone on to several colleges and changed careers several times, and has moved all the way out to New Hampshire, but has always stayed true to his baseball roots by holding part-time stadium usher jobs. To this day he looks back fondly on his incredible cross-country journey.
No comments:
Post a Comment