CHICAGO | Will the Sox leave US Comiskular Rate Field Park?

[Jstange059]

Originally Posted by BVictor1

That ballpark would be positioned with a view of The Loop from home plate, placing the right field wall adjacent with the river. The right field area would have little to no seating because of the tight dimensions of the site, potentially allowing well-hit baseballs to find a new home in the Chicago River.

This seems to indicate to me that the stadium would sit on the west side of the river, on the existing rail yard

[Randomguy34]

So much for using primarily "private" capital

Facing the specter of losing the Chicago Bears to Indiana, the Illinois House unveiled a new version of property tax legislation that the team says is a prerequisite for building a new domed stadium in suburban Arlington Heights.
....
The legislation would also expand the tiers of projects aiming to redevelop rail yards. Potential projects that could be eligible for this incentive include the One Central development near Solider Field and Amtrak’s 14th Street rail yard in Chicago, which is being eyed by billionaire Justin Ishbia for a redevelopment that could include a future White Sox ballpark.

https://blockclubchicago.org/2026/04/22/...-new-version-of-bears-megaprojects-bill/

[ardecila]

It's been clear for years that these sites need some kind of assistance in order to make them viable. Private capital can't fund all the necessary infrastructure for downtown levels of density. You've gotta build a street grid, utilities, replace seawalls, major structures like bridges and overpasses, etc. Or if a private project is viable, it will be along a suburban development model that is not appropriate for a near-downtown location.

Notably, Ishbia doesn't have a TIF for the Amtrak site (except a small corner at the south end is in the Pilsen TIF) and the City will tell him to pound sand if he asks for a TIF deal.

[Bonsai Tree]

They are already moving on this- pending soil testing permits were just filed for both yards north and south of Roosevelt

[MorganChi]

Originally Posted by Bonsai Tree

They are already moving on this- pending soil testing permits were just filed for both yards north and south of Roosevelt

The deal was done when the fire had the shovel dig on their stadium more than a couple weeks ago. I’m hearing we start the moving process fall of this year , what facility we be moving too? obs ( on boarding services ) the department I work will be at a temporary location in union station , conductors and other yard personal will be sharing facilities with Metra and Union Pacific

[Steely Dan]

This will never happen because we live in a very stupid world where we can't have nice things, but I love so freaking much of what these guys are calling for.

Old Comsikey was 100% pure fucking baseball magic!

It's such a damn shame that money always trumps magic these days.

A Modest Proposal for a Better Ballpark
Three ballpark enthusiasts imagine a new White Sox stadium that brings seats closer to the action, corrects past mistakes, and democratizes the fan experience.

By Travis Sawchik
Renderings by Jack Stamm
April 28, 2026, 9:20 am


We have lost something in our experience as fans at the ballpark.

Yes, we are thankful to be beyond the multi-purpose, donut-shaped era of stadium design. Each of the 22 stadiums built since Camden Yards — which opened in 1992 and ushered in the retro era — feature different dimensions, unobstructed views, and pleasant vistas beyond the outfield seats. They have wide concourses and great amenities.

But there is one great flaw that is present in almost every ballpark of the retro era: They’ve pushed us farther away from the game.

Full article: https://www.chicagomag.com/city-life/a-modest-proposal-for-a-better-ballpark/

[cloudbod]

^ v creative and informative article. The cantilever thing explains the hard-to-pinpoint difference between the baseball I experienced as a kid, and games at Wrigley.

I grew up going to Comerica Park-- a solid stadium, but the cheap seats have you sitting so high up and far back that you need binoculars to see the players, pretty similar to Comiskular Rate Field Park... both stadiums are so tall and open that it almost feels like you're spying down onto the field from an adjacent highrise. Meanwhile the lower deck seats are totally open to the elements, with no chance of shade, so you get absolutely annihilated by the sun.





The openness gives Comerica one of the best views in sports, but it also lets out all the noise and energy. Sox park is similar, though less flat.
Meanwhile Wrigley feels enclosed, cozy, intimate and loud as hell.





Either way, I really hope the Sox build a new stadium in the 78 and orient it northeast, just because it would instantly become the best skyline in baseball and give Sox games a unique selling point that the Cubs can't replicate.

[left of center]

Originally Posted by cloudbod

Either way, I really hope the Sox build a new stadium in the 78 and orient it northeast, just because it would instantly become the best skyline in baseball and give Sox games a unique selling point that the Cubs can't replicate.

Rebuilding new Comiskey and having it face southeast was one of the most boneheaded decisions in Chicago stadium history. Right behind tearing down the OG park. No need to move to the South Loop for views; the skylines views from the current stadium are pretty impressive ... from the north facing exit ramps.

I know the old park was is very bad shape towards the end, but retaining parts/all of the exterior would have been a worthy investment and a great way to tie in the franchise's long and storied history.

[Steely Dan]

Originally Posted by left of center

I know the old park was is very bad shape towards the end, but retaining parts/all of the exterior would have been a worthy investment and a great way to tie in the franchise's long and storied history.

I was only a kid (13 when it closed), but my memories of going to games at old Comiskey do not at all jibe with the notion that it was in very bad shape.

Rough around the edges? Of course.

In need of some reno TLC? Well yeah.

But none of it had gotten to any kind of "beyond saving" level of deterioration. That was all just JR lies (and made worse by very intentional deferred maintenance on his part). He was a myopic anti-visionary who was like a decade or two behind his time. Zero imagination. He couldn't see anything other than "I want a brand new ballpark, and I want it now!!".

Stupid people do stupid things.

It sucks when they're also rich and powerful.

[woodrow]

Yeah...Wrigley Field was rough before the renovation. Really rough. It just takes the will and the $$ to do it and with Comiskey, it wasn't there. Plus, that wasn't the design trend then.

[nomarandlee]

Originally Posted by Steely Dan

I was only a kid (13 when it closed), but my memories of going to games at old Comiskey do not at all jibe with the notion that it was in very bad shape.

Rough around the edges? Of course.

In need of some reno TLC? Well yeah.

But none of it had gotten to any kind of "beyond saving" level of deterioration. That was all just JR lies (and made worse by very intentional deferred maintenance on his part). He was a myopic anti-visionary who was like a decade or two behind his time. Zero imagination. He couldn't see anything other than "I want a brand new ballpark, and I want it now!!".

Stupid people do stupid things.

It sucks when they're also rich and powerful.

I think we are roughly the same age (born in '77). It's subjective, of course, but I remember that before its closure, Comisky was terribly dirty and a dark dungeon in the concourses. The outside brick also lacked pretty much any refinement or graceful design to my young eye. Maybe if they hadn't painted it white, it would have retained a more historic and less dirty aesthetic. I also will never understand why they would put those ugly railings around the seat sections every five or six rows. Removing those would have been an easy fix, but I never could have figured out why they were put in the first place. Maybe after disco demolition night and crowd control efforts?

Pretty much any space can be spruced up enough if enough money is thrown in, but I'd argue the sightlines, obstructed views, and dingy corridors made the idea of renovation a fool's errand.

It would have been interesting to see the team tear down the outfield decks, though. The air circulation could have been much improved. On hot summer days, the air often felt like it was trapped and lingered, whereas Wrigley's relatively open style would allow breezes to provide a bit of cooling.

[Steely Dan]

Originally Posted by nomarandlee

I'd argue the sightlines, obstructed views, and dingy corridors made the idea of renovation a fool's errand.

HARD disagree.

Old Comiskey was a fucking spectacular jewel box diamond.

With a comprehensive renovation, we coulda had a southside Wrigley.



source: https://www.horschgallery.com/chicago-white-sox/old-comiskey-park-panorama


That ship obviously sailed decades ago, but I do think it'd be fantastic if some daring MLB owner would build a new stadium with a more classic jewel box upper deck.

But it probably won't happen

[r18tdi]

Originally Posted by Steely Dan

With a comprehensive renovation, we coulda had a southside Wrigley.

Preach!

[ardecila]

Originally Posted by Steely Dan

That ship obviously sailed decades ago, but I do think it'd be fantastic if some daring MLB owner would build a new stadium with a more classic jewel box upper deck.

But it probably won't happen

Parts of Petco or Target Field do come close to the experience of old Tiger Stadium or Polo Grounds. Here's hoping the tight railyard site in South Loop will force the Sox into similar, creative decisions.

I think the speculative design in the Chicago Mag article is a great starting point. Hopefully Ishbia is paying attention and doesn't shrug it off like Jerry did to the Armour Field plan 35 years ago.

[Cress3803]

the lore is Jerry rejected the HOK plan that essentially went on to be used for Jacobs Field in Cleveland

he'd probably be trying to get out of that by now anyway

[Randomguy34]

Chicago got more than $600 million in grants to move the 14th St yard to Bridgeport. Things are moving quickly, I never imagined that the 14th St yard would get developed this decade.

Amtrak's funding boost paves way for White Sox chairman-in-waiting Justin Ishbia's South Loop vision

That’ll open up Amtrak’s current 47-acre site along the Chicago River south of Roosevelt Road, which Ishbia’s private equity firm, Shore Capital Partners, is under contract to purchase. The firm announced plans in March for a mixed-use development including a medical campus in partnership with Northwestern Medicine.

But sources close to the sprawling proposal have said Ishbia has also considered a future Sox stadium at the site, which is on the west side the river just across from The 78, where current Sox chairman Jerry Reinsdorf covets a new stadium.
...
Ishbia has pumped more than $125 million into Canal Edge LLC, the entity financing and delivering the new $900 million Amtrak facility in Bridgeport, where work is expected to start this fall and last for 18 months.

https://chicago.suntimes.com/transportat...-stadium-amtrak-federal-funding-railyard

[Randomguy34]

Even more info! Crain's is reporting that Ishbia is also planning to buy out the BNSF 20-acre site and is requestion a $1.8 billion federal loan for future development. At the same time, Congress is considering property tax relief and exemption from local zoning rules for redevelopments of Amtrak properties. This might become Chicago's largest megadevelopment in history. I think this needs to be its own thread

While a stadium situated on the southern portion of the site running along the river, with home plate facing the Loop, is still being considered, the initial plans are focused on the medical facility-anchored campus closer to Roosevelt Road. Ishbia is also in advanced talks to purchase a roughly 20-acre rail yard owned by railroad operator BNSF adjacent to Amtrak’s 14th Street yard, giving him greater control to reshape the industrial tract while preserving active tracks into Union Station. Metra has a maintenance facility at the BNSF yard and is planning its own move, according to sources familiar with the project.
....
The windfall of federal funding is being delivered as Congress considers a significant change to major redevelopment projects at Amtrak properties that could exempt Ishbia’s development from property taxes, local zoning rules and environmental reviews.

An amendment tacked on to the federal transportation reauthorization act, dubbed Build America 250, would streamline redevelopment of Amtrak properties, but could have a major impact on state and local finances and control over how they are built. The legislation would make any property Amtrak owns, or jointly owns through a public-private partnership, exempt from property taxes and sales taxes on construction materials if they are eligible for the RRIF program.

https://www.chicagobusiness.com/real-est...14&share-code=RSXFGSVDONBBLMWZF7I6IV2CEU

[VKChaz]

Originally Posted by Randomguy34

Even more info! Crain's is reporting that Ishbia is also planning to buy out the BNSF 20-acre site and is requestion a $1.8 billion federal loan for future development. At the same time, Congress is considering property tax relief and exemption from local zoning rules for redevelopments of Amtrak properties. This might become Chicago's largest megadevelopment in history. I think this needs to be its own thread


https://www.chicagobusiness.com/real-est...14&share-code=RSXFGSVDONBBLMWZF7I6IV2CEU

Where would what is currently on the BNSF site go to?

[ithakas]

Is this essentially Roosevelt to 18th, Canal east to the river? Does it cover any stretch between Roosevelt north to Polk on the west side of the river?

[ardecila]

Originally Posted by VKChaz

Where would what is currently on the BNSF site go to?

Presumably the BNSF (Metra) coach yard and shops would move to the Global One site near Western and 18th.

Originally Posted by ithakas

Is this essentially Roosevelt to 18th, Canal east to the river? Does it cover any stretch between Roosevelt north to Polk on the west side of the river?

Yes. Some of the land is ComEd but Amtrak owns about 1/2 of it, including the historic Union Station Power House.