77 Hitmen

Looking back, it's absolutely stunning how bad the stadium was when it first opened, as you said built to Jerry's specs. It's not just the 29 row upper deck stacked above 3 rows of luxury seating, but also lots of exposed concrete, the "moat" between the outfield wall and the seats, etc., etc. This website does a very good and thorough review of all the MLB parks. A lot of his review of Rate Field is comparing the current park to the pre-renovation stadium and how much the renovations improved it. https://ballparkratings.com/ballparks/u-s-cellular-field/

LOL - I haven't seen those movies in ages.....probably never for #4.

Sounds contradictory. And I'm not saying that as a knock on either of you guys. I realize little is known about what they're discussing behind closed doors.

There's no disagreement on my part that MLB needs to fix the issues with some existing franchise, but I can give you 2 billion reasons why they're almost certainly going ahead with expansion once the A's and Rays new ballparks are completed. The Rays are getting new ownership and almost certainly a new stadium likely in a better location and probably with a mixed-use development. Time will tell if it fixes their attendance woes. Las Vegas is happening for the A's and Bally's has announced a huge entertainment district at the site. Again, we'll see after the new city/new ballpark bounce wears off if this address their issues with fan support. Miami? I have no idea what path forward they have. They already got their shiny expensive new stadium and their ballpark is perpetually empty. They indeed are a zombie franchise.

We Sox fans have A LOT of "what ifs" for this organization going back to 1981.

^ This. I would think that negotiating in public would be counterproductive to both sides at this point in time. Look at the blowback Jerry got (and rightfully so) for his public push to lobby the legislature for new stadium funding last year.

I agree with you about SLC, but they have a super-rich local owner lined up, the state is committing $900M toward a ballpark, and the city has a strong corporate presence. I'm not in favor of it, but they seem to be the front runners to land an expansion team right now.

If this happens, it would be such a Sox fan thing to have to deal with......waiting all these years to finally be rid of Jerry Reinsdorf's incompetence only to have the team cease to exist (as far as I'd be concerned). I'm not saying I'm predicting this will happen, but that it would "just figure" - typical Sox fan luck.

It looks like MLB has already reached the saturation point of # of teams making the playoffs. They can't "expand the playoffs" their way out of their problem. The difference in the other leagues is that it's not just the biggest markets that dominate. KC has a dynasty in the NFL and Green Bay is a perpetual powerhouse. The Bills might be the best team in the AFC. OKC beat Indiana for the NBA title. The Bucks won a few years ago. Look at the list of Stanley Cup champs over the last decade - no big market teams. Yeah, maybe we'll get a Brewers/Mariners WS this year, but let's face it - that'd be unusual and the top 10 big market teams are never far from pennant contention. So, you think it's by choice that all the major market MLB teams pay for superstars and all the small market MLB team chose not to? That's quite an incredible coincidence. Yeah, there are bad owners (JR, Moreno, Nutting), but it's pretty clear that MLB is dominated by major market teams and smaller market teams struggle to keep success going even when they have a well-run organization.

The team actually retired the number "455" to commemorate the record sellout streak, which ended in April 2001. https://www.mlb.com/video/indians-the-fans-no-455-c20096121 MLB should take note and be concerned about this. Half the league can only keep superstars until they reach free agency and they move on to the dozen or so top market teams. It's hard to sustain national interest in a sport when half the teams have to rebuild every few years - even well-run organizations like Cleveland. You don't see this in the other major sports. Also, pushing the smaller market teams into all workday day games in the first round or two of the playoffs makes it harder to get people to attend and watch those games.

But isn't it up to the Legislature and Governor to decide if public funds would be spent on a new stadium? Who are the Sox negotiating with?

Let's just hope that someone is Justin Ishbia.

But both Portland and Salt Lake City have both said they (or rather those states) would pay $800M and 900M in public money, respectively, for a MLB ballpark. I'm not saying this is the most likely scenario, but why wouldn't MLB just let the Sox move to Nashville and then award the 2 expansion teams to Portland and SLC? The league gets their expansion fees and 2 nice taxpayer-funded stadiums. Again, I'm not saying a Sox move is imminent. But I could see it playing out this way.

If true, it's probably a negotiating tactic and I'm hoping not a serious threat. If not for a new stadium then at least for the next stadium lease. Or maybe even development of the land (parking lots) ISFA owns around the current ballpark? It doesn't sound like Nashville is spending public money on a ballpark either, but crazier things have happened. One thing I'm pretty sure of - the Ishbias aren't spending close to $2B for a franchise only to keep the unsuccessful status quo with the current ballpark (without major renovations) surround by parking lots for the next 30 years when just about every other MLB team is moving away from that model and the Cubs are becoming more and more dominant in this market.

You bring up good points about Nashville, Lip. But with all do respect, I have found that it is out of state Sox fans who find it much easier to say it wouldn't bother them one bit if the Sox left town.

The new owners are going to have their work cut out for them to win over some younger fans who have grown up uninterested in the shoddy product the South Siders have put on the field. JR's plan to try to win on the cheap and with smoke and mirrors has been a failure. If the Cubs return to the World Series this year, the challenge to win over younger fans will be even greater. I don't think they can just rely on tribalism ("my mom/dad was a Sox fan!") to make the Sox relevant going forward.

If they're talented enough, the Sox will trade them at some point for more prospects and then they can join the long list of ex-players who say they were thankful to get out of that train wreck of an organization.

Maybe they believe in the Easter Bunny and the Tooth Fairy, too.

The Bears are saying their new stadium at Arlington Park would have an infrastructure cost of $855M in public funds. They mention expressway entrance/exit ramps and upgrades to the Metra line that stops at the site as part of that cost. Also: "an estimated 370 events a year, with most of those dates being private events and tours, according to the village report. However, there are plans for 10 home Bears games, two college football showcases, two high school football games, one international soccer match, wrestling and boxing events, and eight concerts each year, generating an estimated 1.5 million visitors combined. The team also hopes to occasionally host major events such as the NCAA Final Four, Big Ten championships and a Super Bowl." https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/09/30/chicago-bears-stadium-arlington-heights-economic-activity/

If this were more than 15 years ago, I'd be totally pissed at that comment. Now? Explain to me why he isn't wrong.

It's a bit ironic for a Sox fan to say this about another sports team. As someone who has been hearing this crack about the Sox for the last 40 years, I'm not going to be the first one to cast a stone at another team's fan support.

Is Katz the only person in the organization with a four-letter last name ending in "tz" being fired?

The Tribune published this from their editorial board today: Editorial: Finally, a Fired-up future for The 78 https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/09/29/editorial-joe-mansueto-chicago-fire-78-soccer-stadium/ From the article: "Chicago, as we’ve said before, has reason to be grateful to Mansueto — soccer fans in particular, given how much a bespoke stadium is likely to do for the popularity of the beautiful game in the city." and "The big question now is what happens on the rest of the land. We’ve been told by several folks not to “rule out” a move there by the Chicago White Sox in a second stadium, creating a sports complex that one could even imagine becoming a persuasive part of a future Olympic bid. Theoretically, there is room, although it sounds like Ald. Pat Dowell, 3rd, will take some convincing. Time will tell. For now, we’re just celebrating a privately funded project that looks set to score all kinds of goals for the city." I don't know about the future Olympic bid, though. We already dodged that bullet once.

Busted. You got me!

Bally's has announced plans for a hotel and entertainment district to be built around the A's new stadium in Vegas: https://www.reviewjournal.com/business/casinos-gaming/ballys-unveils-hotel-entertainment-complex-to-be-built-around-as-las-vegas-ballpark-3466824/amp/ https://thenevadaindependent.com/article/ballys-finally-shares-plans-for-retail-casino-outside-of-future-as-las-vegas-stadiumas-story-for-sunday