77 Hitmen

The Bears situation is going to be settled one way or another within a few weeks. IL will either given them the mega projects bill or they'll sign an agreement with Indiana and that'll be that. Also, if the Sox intend to build a new stadium, it's crystal clear to everyone that it'll have to be privately funded aside from infrastructure costs. So, I don't think there will be a need to go beg the IL General Assembly for public money for a new stadium. Mansueto didn't need to wait around for the state to give him money as he's funding his new soccer stadium privately. Given that the combined net worth of the Ishbia brothers is at least $15B, a privately funded Sox ballpark is not out of the question. If the Sox really do want to move to the 78, I don't think they can just wait around until 2029 to get going on the project because the remaining parcel of land will likely be developed by then with the Fire stadium jump starting work on the site. If they're just going to stay at 35th St and perhaps build a new park at the site of Old Comiskey, the timing isn't as critical. I don't think the looming CBA expiration will cause them to stop them from going forward with a stadium plan. The Rays aren't pausing their stadium efforts due to labor uncertainty as their lease at the Trop ends in 2029 and it doesn't look like the Royals are pausing their efforts either as they fully intend to leave Kaufmann when their lease is up after the 2030 season. The longer the Sox wait, the more expensive construction gets as costs have really shot up the last few years. .....and yes, a short-term extension of their Rate Field lease is certainly an option if a new ballpark isn't going to be ready for another year or two after that.

Great questions. Ishbia was likely brought in when he was to give the team an infusion of cash needed for a new stadium, but nobody knows for sure about that. Was it just a coincidence that they announced the ownership transfer just days after the Fire announced their new stadium at the 78? Is it a coincidence that the ownership transfer window starts the same year the current ballpark lease expires? I have no idea. If a new stadium is built, it'll be the Ishbias putting up most, if not all, the money for it. Yet, as you stated, he can't take control of the team until 2029 at the earliest. Construction of a new ballpark could be well underway by then. If I were the Ishbia brothers, I'd want final say on ballpark design and to keep Reinsdorf as far away from that as possible given how badly he screwed up New Comiskey. The new owners will be the ones who will have to deal with any stadium design mistakes for decades to come. Earlier, @Sleepy Harold said that last fall, Brooks Boyer said to expect a stadium decision to be made in 12-18 months. So, if true, perhaps we'll hear something next offseason? I can't imagine they'd drag it out much longer than that unless they are planning to sign a long-term lease and stay at Rate Field for the foreseeable future.

Did they install bidets at Camelback Ranch?

Moreno is one of the worst owners in MLB. The only people keeping him for being the worst owner are John Fisher, Bob Nutting, and Jerry Reinsdorf.

It was 65 degrees in Chicago literally just a few days ago.

I'd be shocked if the new owners moved the Sox to the NW suburbs - far from the heart of their fan base. With the exception of sprawl cities like Atlanta and Dallas (Arlington), MLB ballparks way out in the burbs just don't work. They may as well stay at 35th St than move there. Moving them to deep into Cub fan territory at a location that most fans would have to drive to by car 81 times a year (unless you live along the UP-NW line) sounds like insanity to me.

I think the Bears would very much want to build in AH over Hammond. That Arlington Park location would be such a great location for them. If IL agreed to move the "mega bill" package forward with no more requests for concessions from the team, my guess is the Bears would take it. But, time is running out, any more delays or requests for more from the team and they'll sign up with Indiana by the end of the month. Yes, they're playing a dangerous game and IL officials could very well end up with egg on their faces. I believe the site is currently a golf course near Wolf Lake, near the Cline Ave exit from the Toll Road. According to Google Maps, it's a 2.5 mile walk from the South Shore Line. For people driving in from the city, isn't there something like $10 in tolls between the Skyway and the Toll Road to get from the Ryan to this site? I'm sure fans won't like that. For people driving from the SW suburbs (Tinley Park, Orland Park, etc.), what's the easiest way to get there? You can't drive up from the south to the Skyway as far as I know. Taking the Borman Expwy to Cline Ave and then circle back to the stadium location seems like quite a bit out of people's way. I suppose you could take the Borman and then up Calumet Ave, but that's about 6 miles off the expressway

Yeah, for a guy who was brought in to get a stadium deal done for the Bears, Warren sure hasn't help things.

The A's have a new stadium under construction and the Rays appear to be on track to build a new stadium and entertainment district in Tampa. The Royals are almost certainly leaving Kaufmann Stadium one way or another after the 2030 season. Unless any of those teams totally screws up their ballpark design, Rate Field will likely be ranked 29th or 30th by almost anyone outside the Sox fan base if nothing significant changes. Which ballpark would rank lower? It's a subjective question, but maybe Angel Stadium? I've been there and it might be a wash between Anaheim and Rate Field. Any others? I'm not a big fan of Chase Field, so maybe that one? But it's getting $500M in renovations, so perhaps it'll improve. Sox fans might not like hearing that, but unfortunately it's reality when you get outside our fanbase bubble. All the ranting and raving in the world isn't going to make the situation better for the Sox. As been explained many times here, the 78 site has drawbacks too. But the current park and location has been problematic for decades. Something has to change. Whether that's staying at Rate Field and building an entertainment district around it, building a new park across 35th St, or moving to the 78 is up to the new owners. I'd vote for the 78, but it's not my billions that are going to be spent. Oh, I (fortunately) now have unhinged responses to me blocked and can only see what was said about me through your quote. So, let me set the record straight about his slander about my experience with my children. I have had seats in just about every section of the ballpark - 100, 300, 500 levels, Fan Deck, field level at the Bullpen Bar, even a skybox once. What I was referring to in the other thread was that when I had my little ones with me, we'd leave our 100 level seats and I'd take them to play for a bit at the Fundamentals area while I continued to catch the game from the balcony up there. Very pleasant memories. Not as good a view as from our seats, but my kids were having fun and I was watching them and at the same time watching the game. Priceless memories. I wouldn't give up those moments up for the world. Only a whack-job ( @tray ) would take my sharing this as some sort of slam against me worthy of an attempted insult. What kind of total jackass would take what I shared and crap on it? Utterly pathetic.

Yeah, constantly using the laugh emoji against everyone is pretty weak and sad. In another thread he even gave a laugh emoji when I said I enjoyed bringing my kids to the Fundamentals area at Sox Park when they were growing up. That's uncalled for and border-line creepy. He's on my ignore list now. It's the first time I've used the feature because I am not here to shut out people who have differing opinions, but I draw the line at personal attacks. This thread has obviously morphed into a catch-all discuss on stadium issues - including the Bears and other MLB and NFL teams and I'm not going to be bullied into not participating in it. In fact, the personal attacks make me want to post here even more. 🙂

Yes, that's my point. They'll still need to rely on the hotel tax to pay down the Soldier Field debt regardless of what the Bears do. Trying to make a AH stadium contingent on the Bears paying that off only to have them cross the state line does nothing to reduce that debt. The way I see it, the Bears hold all the leverage here. Since I believe the Bears would much rather built in AH than in Hammond, the state could probably squeeze some debt payment out of the Bears, but it looks like they've overplayed their hand. It looks like the Bears are done dealing with "sticking points" in the IL legislation and they could officially sign on to the IN offer by the end of this month.

It looks to me that the time for playing the leverage game is coming to an end. I agree that, until a deal is done, it could go either way, but I think the Bears are done making concessions and playing games with state reps. If IL is going to continue to stall legislative action, the Bears will very soon agree to a deal with Indiana and that'll be the end of it. My guess is that state reps from Chicago will be happy to sink any Bears deal to keep them in IL because they're leaving the city limits. Sure, it'll give them great satisfaction to tell their constituents that they told the Bears to go to hell, but it's no way to attract and keep businesses who want to make a $2B investment in IL and Cook County and it'll be a PR embarrassment for the state. My questions for IL officials: Let's say the Bears do jump ship to Indiana. Will that make the Soldier Field debt go away? Also, how much property tax revenue will be generated from the Arlington Park property if the stadium deal collapses?

Wow. Maybe the Bears have finally had it with the Chicago reps trying to stop the package from moving forward. https://www.cbsnews.com/chicago/news/illinois-hearing-bears-stadium-canceled-hammond-indiana/ This statement from the Bears reads to me like they're close to agreeing to the Hammond site. IMO, this would be a huge black eye for the City of Chicago and the State of Illinois. "The passage of SB 27 would mark the most meaningful step forward in our stadium planning efforts to date. We are committed to finishing the remaining site-specific necessary due diligence to support our vision to build a world-class stadium near the Wolf Lake area in Hammond, Indiana. We appreciate the leadership shown by Governor [Mike] Braun, Speaker [Todd] Huston, Senator [Ryan] Mishler and members of the Indiana General Assembly in establishing this critical framework and path forward to deliver a premier venue for all of Chicagoland and a destination for Bears fans and visitors from across the globe. We value our partnership and look forward to continuing to build our working relationship together."

Great explanation, but it doesn't matter because the same poster is going to continue to throw tantrums and stomp his feet over the 78 site just has he has since news broke about a possible stadium there more than 2 years ago. It's amazing that he's so angry that the 78 is being discussed on a thread about the 78. Others have provided valid points against the Sox moving to the 78, but his comments sound unhinged and this thread would be many pages shorter without needing to respond to his nonsensical rants.

The Science Channel should be on standby to make an Engineering Catastrophes episode for when work starts on this tract of land.

Yep. If they're holding out to get the Bears to pay off the $500M or so in debt for Soldier Field, the team will just build their stadium in Hammond and IL will still have to pay off all that debt. Indiana has dump trucks full of money ready to throw at a Bears stadium. Chicago reps are mad that the team is leaving the city limits would rather have the team leave the state altogether than help them remain in Cook County.

The payments for the Soldier Field renovation were totally backloaded. That's why the debt hasn't been paid down much after over 20 years. The funds weren't misdirected, but the politicians in 2002 who set up this plan wanted to kick much of payments a couple of decades down the road. I don't have any links for this, but I'm pretty sure that's what I read at some point.

I have many fond memories of taking my kids to Sox games when they were little. I'd sometimes take them to the Fundamentals kids area and watch the game from the balcony up there. Enjoy, they'll be grown up before you know it.

Well, the Pope IS a Sox fan.

I suppose the narrative now will be that the north end of the site can support a structure like a stadium, but not the south end?

They should be more watchable, that's for sure. I still think they lose around 90 games, but there's definitely more players worth watching than in the last several years. Off the field, the MLB draft will be exciting, not just for the 1-1 pick, but how the Sox fare in the rest of the draft.

I wonder at what point it gets to the "put up or shut up" point for Jerry, Ishbia, and the White Sox if they indeed want to build a new stadium at the 78. We haven't heard a word about their intentions other than Ishbia's offer to the Pope to throw out the first pitch at a new ballpark. Once the Fire stadium gets underway, the south end of that property isn't going to sit undeveloped forever. Plus, with each passing year, construction costs continue to skyrocket. There's also the matter of the Sox lease at Rate Field expiring in 3 years and I highly doubt Ishbia wants to stay there long-term as he eventually assumes ownership of the team.

No doubt, as big as the Bears are, the Bills mean a whole lot more to the Buffalo region.

Environmental work to begin this week at the 78 in preparation for construction of the new Fire stadium, which is expected to start this spring. https://abc7chicago.com/post/environmental-work-78-site-future-home-chicago-fire-soccer-stadium-south-loop-begin-week/18607090/

LOL - yeah, and the taxpayers are paying $850M for stadium itself in upstate NY. I can live with waiting a couple more years since the Bears are privately funding a new stadium if one is built in Arlington Heights.