Reinsdorf considers moving White Sox out of Guaranteed Rate Field or selling team

[Tnetennba]

1 hour ago, Chicago White Sox said:

I don’t get how the logistics would work with Soldier Field.  I suffer through it for a Bears game or concert once a year, but I definitely wouldn’t make that trek 10 to 20 times a year.

Arlington Heights would work great for the Bears, but probably not ideal for our fanbase.

West Loop would probably make the most sense of those three options.

The best available space is where the original Comiskey once sat.  Where else in the city are you going to have direct access to three transit lines and an expressway, without needing to drastically alter how fans reach the game?

[Panerista]

7 minutes ago, The Grinder said:

Is it feasible to construct a retractable roof at current location?

It probably would cost more than a new stadium itself.

[Tnetennba]

I get wanting to tap into the tourist traffic frequenting the museum campus, but even with added service on the Metra, Soldier Field is still far too far-centric to be a realistically functional location for 81 baseball games over a summer. 

[Tnetennba]

20 minutes ago, bmags said:

I think for the Sox to be near the UC you’d need to make a train line that connects the green/pink/blue lines that runs temporarily.

UC capacity is half the Sox. Not many places to route it.

Clark/Roosevelt would be good. Otherwise…anyway you cut it near where the Sox play now will be tops

Im a big bears AH supporter, but huge difference in how we consume those games.

A game day shuttle between the new Damen Green Line stop and the Blue Line might make some sense on the Westside, but the footprint of available space is incredibly limited near the UC. 

[baseball_gal_aly]

11 minutes ago, Tnetennba said:

I get wanting to tap into the tourist traffic frequenting the museum campus, but even with added service on the Metra, Soldier Field is still far too far-centric to be a realistically functional location for 81 baseball games over a summer. 

The point of re-doing Soldier Field for the Sox is to have a stadium on the lakefront. 

But if they do that,  retractable roof is out and April games will be brutally cold. 

I know everyone complains about the logistics for Soldier Field, but unless you're taking public transit it's not much worse than GRF. 

Don't they also have trolleys from the Roosevelt L stop? 

Edited August 27, 2023 by baseballgalaly

[wegner]

How about that huge plot of land just off I55 at the Damen Ave exit in the McKinley Park neighborhood? Point it in the right direction and you'd have a great view of the skyline. Could build a nice complex with parking for a great tailgate experience and that location would work for the logistics of Sox fans much better than Arlington Heights imo.  Biggest downfall is lack of public transportation. Sox could easily run shuttles to and from the Orange line though.

[baseball_gal_aly]

3 minutes ago, wegner said:

How about that huge plot of land just off I55 at the Damen Ave exit in the McKinley Park neighborhood? Point it in the right direction and you'd have a great view of the skyline. Could build a nice complex with parking for a great tailgate experience and that location would work for the logistics of Sox fans much better than Arlington Heights imo.  Biggest downfall is lack of public transportation. Sox could easily run shuttles to and from the Orange line though.

A lot of Sox fans live in the SW burbs and AH is actually fairly accessible from a driving perspective. You just hop on 355/53 and you're right there. 

[South Side Hit Men]

1 hour ago, ron883 said:

People keep mentioning Roosevelt and Clark. Unless things have changed, there was a plan for a massive development on that land. Keep in mind this was way back in 2016 when I heard about it. With the economy and how hard the Lightfoot administration made it for developers, this may have changed by now. 

As cool as it would be to have a stadium in the West loop, south loop, or near the UC, the traffic would make me want to gouge my eyes out. In my experience the Dan Ryan is the least shitty and traffic jammed of the major city highways. Keep the Sox traffic on there. Diverting more traffic to those other areas 81 days a year would be just awful. 

Yes, Block 78 is no longer available. The only feasible spot it might work downtown is the old post office sitting empty forever and adjacent land on the west to the Kennedy.

Beyond lack of core Sox fans near AH being an issue, adequately staffing the thousand plus mostly minimum wage jobs in that area would be difficult. The public transportation options and location with the current stadium is very important for accessibility of stadium game day staff (ushers, ticket takers, vendors, food prep, custodians, etc).

There are very limited public transportation options in AH. Could struggle through 10 games a year, but 81 would be a stretch. They have trouble filling positions as it is with low crowds.

[wegner]

1 minute ago, baseballgalaly said:

A lot of Sox fans live in the SW burbs and AH is actually fairly accessible from a driving perspective. You just hop on 355/53 and you're right there. 

We had friends who lived in Arlington Heights and honestly every time we drove to see them it was a nightmare, so I think it would suck 

[baseball_gal_aly]

3 minutes ago, wegner said:

We had friends who lived in Arlington Heights and honestly every time we drove to see them it was a nightmare, so I think it would suck 

Arlington Park isn't that bad, also there are two Metra stations on the campus. 

Downtown AH is a pain, no doubt. 

Edited August 27, 2023 by baseballgalaly

[Tnetennba]

10 minutes ago, baseballgalaly said:

The point of re-doing Soldier Field for the Sox is to have a stadium on the lakefront. 

But if they do that,  retractable roof is out and April games will be brutally cold. 

I know everyone complains about the logistics for Soldier Field, but unless you're taking public transit it's not much worse than GRF. 

Don't they also have trolleys from the Roosevelt L stop? 

I’ve never been to a game at Soldier Field so I don’t rightly know about fan shuttles/trolleys.  If they don’t it’s an easy answer.  It’s a trek from the L on foot and the busses aren’t much better.  As for car access, the museum campus is physically  more limited than 35th & Shields, there is no side street access, and LSD backs up far more in my experience on days with events at Solider Field than at GRF.  Maybe it’s not all that different for the average commuter, IDK. 

[Tnetennba]

15 minutes ago, wegner said:

How about that huge plot of land just off I55 at the Damen Ave exit in the McKinley Park neighborhood? Point it in the right direction and you'd have a great view of the skyline. Could build a nice complex with parking for a great tailgate experience and that location would work for the logistics of Sox fans much better than Arlington Heights imo.  Biggest downfall is lack of public transportation. Sox could easily run shuttles to and from the Orange line though.

That stretch of I55 is always a mess when I have to drive that way.  I walk to the Target right there and it’s incredibly pedestrian unfriendly already.  It also won’t be any better of a draw for casual fans/tourists than Armour Square. If they are moving within the city, that really needs to be something given real consideration. 

[wegner]

7 minutes ago, baseballgalaly said:

Arlington Park isn't that bad, also there are two Metra stations on the campus. 

Downtown AH is a pain, no doubt. 

Yep they lived close to downtown so that must've been it.

[wegner]

1 minute ago, Tnetennba said:

That stretch of I55 is always a mess when I have to drive that way.  I walk to the Target right there and it’s incredibly pedestrian unfriendly already.  It also won’t be any better of a draw for casual fans/tourists than Armour Square. If they are moving within the city, that really needs to be something given real consideration. 

Yeah I did think of the pedestrian issue after I posted so I understand your point. Just spitballing.

[Sarava]

54 minutes ago, Texsox said:

I assume they have mapped the home addresses of the season ticket buyers and probably surveyed single game buyers. That data would be interesting. 

For most of my career I had offices in Schaumburg and Elk Grove. That was solidly Cub territory. I wonder how many the team could flip if they played on AH.

Yeah I think most of the Chicago area is more Cubs leaning. They do have more fans than the Sox do.

The dynamic that interests me is how a team in the Chicago suburbs would be supported. I've lived most of my life in the NW burbs and we've never had a professional sports team that wasn't a major ordeal to travel to and from games. I think there's a ton of money out here (and other suburban areas) left on the table, pretty much untapped because all the professional sporting events are pain in the ass commutes.

[TaylorStSox]

The Sox don't have to be top 10 in attendance to be profitable for the franchise and the city. People have the wrong mindset. The Sox are never going to be the Cubs, and that's okay. It really doesn't matter. It would be a travesty for the city, especially the South Side, to let the Sox move. The Sox have strong branding and a somewhat strong identity. Bridgeport is a great neighborhood. Transportation to the stadium is outstanding. Just win some damn games consistently. 

Edited August 27, 2023 by TaylorStSox

[TaylorStSox]

The comparison to the A's is kind of absurd. Oakland has a population of 440,000. It's twice the size of Aurora, and it's a dump. 

[Texsox]

20 minutes ago, Sarava said:

Yeah I think most of the Chicago area is more Cubs leaning. They do have more fans than the Sox do.

The dynamic that interests me is how a team in the Chicago suburbs would be supported. I've lived most of my life in the NW burbs and we've never had a professional sports team that wasn't a major ordeal to travel to and from games. I think there's a ton of money out here (and other suburban areas) left on the table, pretty much untapped because all the professional sporting events are pain in the ass commutes.

Heading north after a Sox game is always lonely. 

[baseball_gal_aly]

35 minutes ago, Tnetennba said:

I’ve never been to a game at Soldier Field so I don’t rightly know about fan shuttles/trolleys.  If they don’t it’s an easy answer.  It’s a trek from the L on foot and the busses aren’t much better.  As for car access, the museum campus is physically  more limited than 35th & Shields, there is no side street access, and LSD backs up far more in my experience on days with events at Solider Field than at GRF.  Maybe it’s not all that different for the average commuter, IDK. 

State, Wentworth, 35th and 31st St are a mess on Sox gamedays

[Tnetennba]

3 minutes ago, baseballgalaly said:

State, Wentworth, 35th and 31st St are a mess on Sox gamedays

Oh I know, I live in Bridgeport. 

[baseball_gal_aly]

1 minute ago, Tnetennba said:

Oh I know, I live in Bridgeport. 

I lived there for a year. 

[wegner]

32 minutes ago, wegner said:

Yeah I did think of the pedestrian issue after I posted so I understand your point. Just spitballing.

I ran my location idea by my better half and she said..."YOU MEAN THAT SUPERFUND SITE?!!"

"Somebody's got to clean it up and the land will be cheap" She walked away but only after agreeing that Arlington Heights was a bad idea too.

[TaylorStSox]

7 minutes ago, baseballgalaly said:

State, Wentworth, 35th and 31st St are a mess on Sox gamedays

They're really not bad. Damen is a mess on Bulls game days and concerts. Clark and Addison are a mess on Cubs game days. The Red Line is a disaster for every non Cubs fan on game days. It's the nature of large scale events. 35th actually moves well all things considered. Transportation to GRF is better than both of the other sports stadiums in the city. 

[baseball_gal_aly]

1 minute ago, TaylorStSox said:

They're really not bad. Damen is a mess on Bulls game days and concerts. Clark and Addison are a mess on Cubs game days. The Red Line is a disaster for every non Cubs fan on game days. It's the nature of large scale events. 35th actually moves well all things considered. Transportation to GRF is better than both of the other sports stadiums in the city. 

Have you ever been there when the stadium is full? 

It's a mess just as bad as the rest of them. 

I agree, it's just the nature of large scale events. 

The traffic around GRF is one thing when there's 15k fans at the game, it's a completely different story when there's a sellout. 

Edited August 27, 2023 by baseballgalaly

[TaylorStSox]

1 minute ago, baseballgalaly said:

Have you ever been there when the stadium is full? 

It's a mess just as bad as the rest of them. 

I agree, it's just the nature of large scale events. 

I live in Bridgeport.