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Sox looking at building in South Loop


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Well, this is both exciting and scary. WGN has confirmed that that the sox and the bears are in competition with each other. Both franchises are hoping any potential new baseball or football facility would be financed (in part) by tapping into a “unique binding clause” that governs the I.S.F.A. If the  bears wind up winning this partial financing thingy I believe that would cause the Sox no other choice but to leave Illinois altogether. I hope Reinsdorf has a lot of “friends” in Springfield. 

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39 minutes ago, CWSpalehoseCWS said:

Totally agree. It becomes a part of the neighborhood. 

Would have to see how it interacts with the buildings in the complex, but in general having it open towards the city itself is what we all want as well.

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Hopefully the public financing is minimal if much at all. Hopefully there is something done with the existing field because it would be a waste if it weren’t used for anything.

If they leave for Nashville because the Bears get the funding for a stadium and they don’t, that would be so White Sox and shitty.

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Assuming the Sox are not seeking additional tax funding sources beyond existing TIF funds plus ongoing stadium taxes, they are ahead of Oakland in the process and have two additional years at their disposal (Oakland 2028 season, White Sox 2030 season).

The city, state and ISFA still have to formally reach agreement on any Sox proposal, put Fizer and Jerry are much more likely to have this completed properly. They also have the fallback option of staying at their current stadium in a renegotiated agreement. The only stadium commitment Oakland has secured beyond 2024 is their January 2025 Fantasy Camp in Mesa.

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8 minutes ago, BigHurt3515 said:

I am all in.

Just so I know exactly, the Architecture Boat tour goes near this empty site, right?

I don’t know if it does now, but it easily could. Water taxis stop at Ping Tom park just south so there’s no reason tour boats couldn’t visit the 78. 

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1 minute ago, South Side Hit Men said:

Assuming the Sox are not seeking additional tax funding sources beyond existing TIF funds plus ongoing stadium taxes, they are ahead of Oakland in the process and have two additional years at their disposal (Oakland 2028 season, White Sox 2030 season).

The city, state and ISFA still have to formally reach agreement on any Sox proposal, put Fizer and Jerry are much more likely to have this completed properly. They also have the fallback option of staying at their current stadium in a renegotiated agreement. The only stadium commitment Oakland has secured beyond 2024 is their January 2025 Fantasy Camp in Mesa.

Does the state of Illinois really have the money for funding another stadium?

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4 minutes ago, mac9001 said:

If the Sox abandon GRF the Bears might as well explore that as a future build site.

Or maybe it should be repurposed for housing or used for other games. To do nothing with it would be such a waste. The Bears would need to heavily invest in Bridgeport to make it worth it.

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2 minutes ago, Tnetennba said:

I don’t know if it does now, but it easily could. Water taxis stop at Ping Tom park just south so there’s no reason tour boats couldn’t visit the 78. 

Just watched a video, it looks like they turn around right before the Roosevelt bridge. 

I love that they would extend the city walk. As a visitor to Chicago from out of town I really hope this happens, would make going to games a lot more fun

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1 hour ago, MiddleCoastBias said:

I don't want to be a buzzkill but it's kind of underwhelming, once I get over the initial excitement? Like, the renderings look... good, not great? And then also consider that what we see in the renderings vs. what we actually get is usually way less exciting (go back and look at what the new Rangers stadium was supposed to be).

It doesn't look like much outfield seating and no outfield terrace. And the terraced steps outside left field looks like an awful waste of space.

I do think the concourse outside of centerfield could be really cool with restaurants etc, especially if they can get a permit to enclose the area and make it open container.

I thought that too from the initial renderings, but from this view it looks like there's 3 levels in RF and 2 in LF. 

Screenshot_20240207-193327_Chrome.jpg

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4 minutes ago, The Beast said:

Does the state of Illinois really have the money for funding another stadium?

Everyone on record has stated no "new" taxes will be raised, which most seem to take as the current hotel stadium funding tax will be extended if it is not formally grandfathered. There are also large piles of cash sitting in TIF fund accounts the city and team can raid, and claim they didn't raise new taxes. 

I personally prefer the Sox to negotiate ownership of all Bridgeport land owned by IFSA, acquire additional land have own and develop the entire parcel with only the minimal infrastructure funding since most is already in place, but I concede it is a long shot at this point unless something falls through with the current proposal. The stadium they have is fine, management and the players they field is what is substandard, and just like Oakland/Las Vegas, a new stadium doesn't guarantee anything changes on that front.

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14 minutes ago, South Side Hit Men said:

Everyone on record has stated no "new" taxes will be raised, which most seem to take as the current hotel stadium funding tax will be extended if it is not formally grandfathered. There are also large piles of cash sitting in TIF fund accounts the city and team can raid, and claim they didn't raise new taxes. 

I personally prefer the Sox to negotiate ownership of all Bridgeport land owned by IFSA, acquire additional land have own and develop the entire parcel with only the minimal infrastructure funding since most is already in place, but I concede it is a long shot at this point unless something falls through with the current proposal. The stadium they have is fine, management and the players they field is what is substandard, and just like Oakland/Las Vegas, a new stadium doesn't guarantee anything changes on that front.

I think the bottom line is that Bridgeport is just far away from where all the action is in this city. Plus who’s going to trek down there or up there and frequent a “restaurant/bar zone” during the off season or while they’re on the road and the tax revenue would suck compared to the 78 site.

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7 minutes ago, fathom said:

The whining about parking on Twitter is ridiculous

These renderings are phenomenal. I’m assuming there will be a bunch more modifications and mock ups along the way, but what a wonderful start to actually promote the vision of this thing. 
I actually deleted my Twitter app. It was becoming too negative. I rely on you guys to bring me White Sox up to date content now. ?

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I tried finding renderings of Comiskey Park II, and Ironically found the 1910 stadium and proposed 1987 Addison renderings, but couldn't find an image of the 1986-1988 renderings.

I wanted to compare what renderings were offered to lawmakers and the public versus what was actually built for 1991.

1910 Rendering of Comiskey Park:

120131586_5126484247376937_5329424563960

 

1987 Addison Illinois Stadium Renderings;

https://www.stadiumpage.com/concepts/Addison_R.html

addison-dome-overhead.jpg

Jerry has been obsessed with the Royals since the mid 1980s.

Addison_NoRoof1.jpg

 

Print of all three White Sox Stadiums:

3chicago-al-horiz__51891.1488422879.jpg?

 

Actual Construction Picture Comiskey Park II:

December+2%252C+2019+Blog+Photo.jpg

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9 minutes ago, fathom said:

The whining about parking on Twitter is ridiculous

Waiting for a certain poster to blow every conceivable gasket at these renderings. Whatever will fans do but be forced to not drive their living room on wheels to a game. 

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4 minutes ago, fathom said:

The whining about parking on Twitter is ridiculous

59 minutes ago, The Beast said:

Hopefully the public financing is minimal if much at all. Hopefully there is something done with the existing field because it would be a waste if it weren’t used for anything.

If they leave for Nashville because the Bears get the funding for a stadium and they don’t, that would be so White Sox and shitty.

The sox may have no other choice but to leave if the bears get the funding instead of the Sox. That funding is the key to everything. Without it the Sox are not viable here for the long run. Why stay?

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