This proposal is pretty big; moving the White Sox from 35th street to The 78, a big master planned development in the South Loop along the river, and then redeveloping 35th into a soccer stadium and housing.
First time renderings revealed of White Sox proposal for a new ballpark in the 78
New renderings have been revealed of the Chicago White Sox and developer Related Midwest's proposal to bring a new ballpark to the plot of land near the South Loop known as 'The 78,' sources have shared with WGN News. WGN's Jenna Barnes reports on-air about the latest details regarding the development
This proposal obviously looks awesome. It’s possible that both the White Sox and the Royals will be in new stadiums by the end of the decade.
As an aside, my first and only visit to the “old” Comiskey Park was to watch The Police in concert in I think 1983. The trip helped solidify my view that Chicago was one of the most magical cities on earth.
This would be a huge change for the Sox, as the current stadium isn’t really that old. It may be an opportunity they simply can’t pass up. The renderings look fantastic.
nativeomahan wrote: Wed Feb 14, 2024 4:46 pm
This proposal obviously looks awesome. It’s possible that both the White Sox and the Royals will be in new stadiums by the end of the decade.
I need to go to a White Sox game before they move. Too bad they couldn't make it work in their long time neighborhood. The timing of their current stadium's build was brutal. It was the last stadium to open before Camden Yards, when everything changed. Even though they have renovated it, it was always going to rank in the bottom tier of MLB ballparks.
I absolutely love this. I know the Cubs are the far more popular team in Chicago, and some diehard Sox fans will be upset for leaving the hood, but this looks so cool and could really help raise their profile long term in Chicago.
If this happens and it ends up anything like this, could be a top 5 MLB ballpark, at worst top 10.
On top of this, it sounds like the Bears now have changed positions on their new stadium and it will stay in the area of Soldier Field instead of moving to Arlington Park. Both of these are great for the city.
This is really cool and I hope it works out. When I lived in Chicago I was more of a Sox fan than a Cubs fan and made it to more Sox games than Cubs games. But the current White Sox stadium creates a pretty bland MLB experience. In my head, before moving to Chicago, the White Sox, the South Side's team, had this sort of gritty essence about who they are and where they play. But that's not really the case in reality. there's nothing particularly noteworthy about the stadium except for the pinwheel things they copied over from Comiskey. Take those away and I probably couldn't recognize it. The neighborhood is not interesting either. There was going to be an entertainment district around the stadium but the owner (I think) decided to ensure that there was ample parking instead, despite there being both Red and Green 'L' line stops and a Metra commuter rail line stop within a couple blocks of the stadium. That said, all that blandness and having market competition from the Cubs meant that outfield seats were only $7.
Despite having the same owner with questionable ideas, this new stadium would create a really cool baseball experience.
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