Who Would Buy The White Sox?

[Buehrle>Wood]

25 minutes ago, GREEDY said:

Would make alot of cents 

Not really. You'd be encroaching on one of the leagues biggest money makers (as well as the Brewers). No chance in hell MLB would go for that, nor does it make any sense from the White Sox perspective to remove yourself from the small area in which your fanbase actually exists.

[EloyJenkins]

36 minutes ago, Jerry McNertney said:

Any sane buyer of the White Sox would try to move them out of the hellhole of Chicago/Illinois . North Carolina has a population  of 10 million+ and doesn't have a single MLB club. Charlotte would be a logical move.

Charlotte makes so much damn sense. great town starting to explode and needs a baseball team badly. the Knights stadium is amazing, wonder if they could figure out a way to repurpose that. Plus, it's about a 4 hour drive for me so, it would be awesome. 

whomever buys the Sox needs to look deeply at what the Braves have done. You can literally put a ballpark anywhere if you build a full complex of restaurants/living/corporate that becomes a destination no matter the time of year. 

[caulfield12]

30 minutes ago, EloyJenkins said:

Charlotte makes so much damn sense. great town starting to explode and needs a baseball team badly. the Knights stadium is amazing, wonder if they could figure out a way to repurpose that. Plus, it's about a 4 hour drive for me so, it would be awesome. 

whomever buys the Sox needs to look deeply at what the Braves have done. You can literally put a ballpark anywhere if you build a full complex of restaurants/living/corporate that becomes a destination no matter the time of year. 

Plus proximity to all the minor league affiliates creates a built-in fanbase.

That said you do get cramped by Wash and Balt to the north.

Nashville you have Reds and Braves and old Cardinals network of radio affiliates going back generations.

[bmags]

Definitely. As all sports orgs have seen the last 30 years, moving to growing, transient populations like Tampa or Charlotte are surefire ways to get tons of revenue.

[bmags]

the thing about football teams in the suburbs is there are 8 home games a year and they are all-day events and mostly during off-traffic hours. The thing about baseball teams is they play 81 game at home largely in early evening where you are asking people to get in their cars during rush hour and get in the traffic flow that is moving away from the city. All people in the suburbs imagine a suburban stadium in the suburb next door. Well, what if' it's on the opposite side of you? I am in a western suburb. When I have friends move north or south they may as well be moving out of state. When we see each other it's ...in the centrally located city.

[Quin]

Absolute shot in the dark:

Once Reinsdorf passes, Michael Jordan pulls a Loria/John Henry and attempts to purchase the Sox and Bulls.

[The Mighty Mite]

29 minutes ago, Quin said:

Absolute shot in the dark:

Once Reinsdorf passes, Michael Jordan pulls a Loria/John Henry and attempts to purchase the Sox and Bulls.

Being a North Carolinian, might Jordan move them to Charlotte?

[Quin]

13 minutes ago, The Mighty Mite said:

Being a North Carolinian, might Jordan move them to Charlotte?

Jordan loves North Carolina, but he wanted to own the Bulls first.

[southsider2k5]

2 hours ago, Jerry McNertney said:

Any sane buyer of the White Sox would try to move them out of the hellhole of Chicago/Illinois . North Carolina has a population  of 10 million+ and doesn't have a single MLB club. Charlotte would be a logical move.

Ok Boomer.

[Tnetennba]

There are other teams that would move long before the White Sox.  There is far too much untapped potential right here in Chicago for the Sox to move to a smaller market.

[The Mighty Mite]

26 minutes ago, Tnetennba said:

There are other teams that would move long before the White Sox.  There is far too much untapped potential right here in Chicago for the Sox to move to a smaller market.

I don't want the Sox to ever leave Chicago even though I'm a Floridian now as I have lived in the Sunshine State for 29 years. I am curious as where this untapped potential that you speak of is in the Chicago market. My guess is that over 60% of the market belongs to the Cubs plus the city and the metro area are declining in population, the metro area lost 91,000 people from 2020-2021.

Edited June 2, 2022 by The Mighty Mite

[FoxForce2]

10 minutes ago, Tnetennba said:

There are other teams that would move long before the White Sox.  There is far too much untapped potential right here in Chicago for the Sox to move to a smaller market.

The Rays and A's are the two most likely moves in the near future, with the A's linked to LV (even with the drawbacks.)  Montreal, Nashville and Charlotte are the most frequently mentioned destinations for a team such as the Rays. I'd say that there are more than enough Chicago affiliated groups and buyers around to keep the Sox in Chicago. That, keeping in mind a bazillionaire buyer with very specific ideas about where he would want to place a franchise. It's not out of the question, but the odds are pretty low on that happening. 

[greg775]

2 hours ago, Jerry McNertney said:

Any sane buyer of the White Sox would try to move them out of the hellhole of Chicago/Illinois . North Carolina has a population  of 10 million+ and doesn't have a single MLB club. Charlotte would be a logical move.

That's what I was thinking. Perhaps if the Bears move it will get voters willing to think long and hard about electing people like the current mayor and DA. I'm not saying Chicago is dead but it's very close. Taxes, crime. Of course the Sox and Bears should consider moves to the suburbs or another state. A complex like the Dallas Cowboys have or Arlington Rangers is meant for suburbia somewhere not the inner city. Not in this day and age.

[greg775]

41 minutes ago, southsider2k5 said:

Ok Boomer.

You think Chicago is on the right track as a city? You think the future is bright? Name calling is boring/unproductive. Discussion more interesting. I'd like to hear a billionaires' takes on Chicago being a good investment for a team owner right now personally.

[southsider2k5]

Just now, greg775 said:

You think Chicago is on the right track as a city? You think the future is bright? Name calling is boring/unproductive. Discussion more interesting. I'd like to hear a billionaires' takes on Chicago being a good investment for a team owner right now personally.

Billionaires are all over the place in Chicago, investing in it every day.  I think namecalling is boring and unproductive as well, which is why I responding to the characterization of Chicago as a hellhole.  Any reason you didn't respond to that?  Nevermind, I know.

[greg775]

4 minutes ago, southsider2k5 said:

Billionaires are all over the place in Chicago, investing in it every day.  I think namecalling is boring and unproductive as well, which is why I responding to the characterization of Chicago as a hellhole.  Any reason you didn't respond to that?  Nevermind, I know.

If I go into detail about why I think Chicago is a hellhole or certainly on the wrong track, it will derail the thread and close it quickly. My nephew is a firefighter in one of the worst crime ridden areas of the city and lives in the heart of the city. Tons of relatives in Illinois. Yes I have opinions which can't be shared here cause of rules. Forgive me if I think 'ok boomer' is not a proper response to a discussion.

Edited June 2, 2022 by greg775

[FoxForce2]

15 minutes ago, greg775 said:

That's what I was thinking. Perhaps if the Bears move it will get voters willing to think long and hard about electing people like the current mayor and DA. I'm not saying Chicago is dead but it's very close. Taxes, crime. Of course the Sox and Bears should consider moves to the suburbs or another state. A complex like the Dallas Cowboys have or Arlington Rangers is meant for suburbia somewhere not the inner city. Not in this day and age.

I haven't lived in Chicago area since the mid-60's. Still have a lot of family in the western burbs though. The distinction between inner-city and the sub/ex burbs is at least somewhat puzzling. Greater Chicago is still Chicago. You all speak a million miles an hour and call soda 'pop'. 
Sheesh. What's the big deal?
p.s. I bet at least some of you still call the Willis bldg. the Sears Tower. I probably would too if I lived there. But then, I still remember riding the Bobs and the Fireball at Riverview, so...

Edited June 2, 2022 by FoxForce2

[southsider2k5]

1 minute ago, greg775 said:

If I go into detail about why I think Chicago is a hellhole or certainly on the wrong track, it will derail the thread and close it quickly. My nephew is a firefighter in one of the worst crime ridden areas of the city and lives in the heart of the city. Tons of relatives in Illinois. Yes I have opinions which can't be shared here cause of rules. Forgive me if I think 'ok boomer' is not a proper response to a discussion.

And neither is calling Chicago a "hellhole".

[Tnetennba]

13 minutes ago, The Mighty Mite said:

I don't want the Sox to ever leave Chicago even though I'm a Floridian now as I have lived in the Sunshine State for 29 years. I am curious as where this untapped potential that you speak of is in the Chicago market. My guess is that over 60% of the market belongs to the Cubs plus the city and the metro area are declining in population. 

JR has never tried to take Chicago away from the Cubs.  He's been content with half empty stadiums and a sweetheart lease agreement for decades.  He's made zero investment immediately around either Sox Park or the United Center for that matter.  A new owner, a new Sox Park where Old Comiskey once was, investing in making the new park a destination before, during, and after games, etc etc.  Oh, and spending money on real talent to compete and acting like a big market team.  JR has never done any of this.  There is zero reason to leave half the city to the shitty northsiders.

[bmags]

I don't think people on this board realize how big chicago metro area is. People have been talking about how houston will overtake chicago since I was in elementary school, and it will still be 8-10 more years until that happens. Nashville is wonderful, I wish it the best. Nashville is slightly bigger than power metro Milwaukee, and it is already straining under the growth. It's actually quite difficult to scale up cities quickly before they hit growing pains that can constrain it's population growth. See tacoma, see Denver.

By then a new hot, cheaper city (northwest arkansas, likely) will pop up and be the new place we think the sox will move that is obviously better. 

By sheer market size and growth, there should be no greater sports market than Tampa. Yet we are talking about moving the Rays out of there. It took atlanta a long time to build up a lot of its sports fandom. There are no guarantees in this. 

The white sox have a built in floor much higher than any of these new markets, and the league can just expand rather than move teams. 

[FoxForce2]

7 minutes ago, Tnetennba said:

JR has never tried to take Chicago away from the Cubs.  He's been content with half empty stadiums and a sweetheart lease agreement for decades.  He's made zero investment immediately around either Sox Park or the United Center for that matter.  A new owner, a new Sox Park where Old Comiskey once was, investing in making the new park a destination before, during, and after games, etc etc.  Oh, and spending money on real talent to compete and acting like a big market team.  JR has never done any of this.  There is zero reason to leave half the city to the shitty northsiders.

I hate to admit it, but the cubes have the right idea re: Wrigleyville. A SoxTown (or something), just makes sense.

[The Mighty Mite]

6 minutes ago, Tnetennba said:

JR has never tried to take Chicago away from the Cubs.  He's been content with half empty stadiums and a sweetheart lease agreement for decades.  He's made zero investment immediately around either Sox Park or the United Center for that matter.  A new owner, a new Sox Park where Old Comiskey once was, investing in making the new park a destination before, during, and after games, etc etc.  Oh, and spending money on real talent to compete and acting like a big market team.  JR has never done any of this.  There is zero reason to leave half the city to the shitty northsiders.

Good points, I remember in the 50s and 60s when Chicago was a Sox town. The thing is that the Sox will never have a Wrigley Field where they open the gates and 30,000 flock in regardless of how bad the Cubs are plus they get the out of towners. I can't tell you how many people I have met down here in Florida that visited Chicago and saw a ballgame at Wrigley but not Sox Park.

[WBWSF]

2 minutes ago, The Mighty Mite said:

Good points, I remember in the 50s and 60s when Chicago was a Sox town. The thing is that the Sox will never have a Wrigley Field where they open the gates and 30,000 flock in regardless of how bad the Cubs are plus they get the out of towners. I can't tell you how many people I have met down here in Florida that visited Chicago and saw a ballgame at Wrigley but not Sox Park.

I've read  a number of times that 40% of the attendance at Wrigley Field comes from out of staters.

[The Mighty Mite]

2 minutes ago, WBWSF said:

I've read  a number of times that 40% of the attendance at Wrigley Field comes from out of staters.

That seems a bit high, more than a bit high.

[bmags]

Just now, The Mighty Mite said:

That seems a bit high, more than a bit high.

yeah there is zero chance that's true.