77 Hitmen

IMO, this is the most likely outcome to the Sox stadium saga.

MLB wouldn't approve a Sox move before expansion as it would unnecessarily take a potential expansion market off the board and, despite my criticism of Rate Field, the Sox don't have a serious stadium problem anywhere close to what the A's had in Oakland and the Rays currently have. I also don't expect MLB to expand beyond 32 teams - perhaps in my lifetime. For more than a half century, MLB hasn't moved any teams unless their current stadium situation became totally unacceptable - Olympic Stadium, Oakland Coliseum, and a Rays move is still possible if they don't get a replacement for Tropicana Field approved. This goes back all the way to 1972. It's been the most stable of the 4 major sports leagues in that regard.

I think the chances of this happening before expansion are basically zero. MLB wants two prime markets available who will build them a publicly-funded new stadium. They won't be eager for the White Sox to take one of those cities off the board like the A's did with Las Vegas. I'm not sure how eager Nashville will be to fork over nearly $1B in taxpayer money for a baseball stadium either as they're spending a fortune on the new Titans stadium. After expansion? Mayyyybe. It depends on how the dust settles after expansion and realignment. I'm still doubtful that Ishbia, who is based in Chicago, will want to move the team out of state. But at that point, MLB wouldn't care because they'll likely have imploded the AL and NL, putting the Sox and Cubs in the same division and "conference" and thus making the Sox presence in the Chicago market seem superfluous. Still a longshot, but at that point, I could see a series of events that maybe leads to their departure - perhaps the city blocks the team from building a privately-funded ballpark at the 78 because of neighborhood objections and some other city ends up getting spurned by MLB in expansion and is ready to make a generous stadium offer. Maybe. But we're a long way from that point. Most likely, if their only option is to stay at the current stadium and they won't or can't turn the area into a thriving "stadium district", then I don't expect them to move the team, but expect another 30 years of stagnant market share and arguing that Sox fans aren't fair weather even though they will only show up to games if they're winning and making deep playoff runs for an extended number of years.

94 wins in 2013 and 98 wins in 2015...wow, I forgot that they were actually that good for a few years. It looks like their attendance bottomed out in 2018 and 2019 and has been a little higher post-Covid. But then again, it looks like MLB overall attendance also bottomed out in 2018-19 and has rebounded post-Covid. https://www.baseball-reference.com/leagues/majors/misc.shtml This year's league-wide average has ticked down a little from last year so far, but 2 teams are playing in minor league stadiums.

Here's is Marc Ganis's response to this request:

I'm pretty sure I read once that city/county/state governments cannot own MLB teams based on league rules. If all billionaires got that way by being unethical, where does that leave us Sox fans? Are we hoping the next owners have modest resources and need to operate the team on a shoestring budget for the next 3 decades? It's fair to suggest that billionaires for the most part suck and got that way by inheritance or by exploiting others, but I'd rather have some filthy rich dude owning the team than someone who can't play with the big boys in terms of MLB payroll. And it's not like such a new owner is going to be raking in the dough solely from a team playing at a half empty, unpopular stadium that is surrounded by parking lots such that he can spend like a big market team.

The Denver Broncos intend to build a privately-funded, retractable roof new stadium and develop the land around the new stadium into a mixed-use entertainment district. Their current stadium, Empower Field at Mile High, was built in 2001. https://www.denverpost.com/2025/09/09/broncos-stadium-burnham-yard/ https://www.denverbroncos.com/news/broncos-announce-historic-burnham-yard-as-preferred-site-for-privately-funded-retractable-roof-stadium-mixed-use-district

If the Ishbias come out and say they'll privately fund a $1B+ new baseball stadium at the 78 (and I understand that's a HUGE "if"), city officials would be crazy to block that effort. And I get an alderperson taking a position that reflects the concerns of her constituents, but I'd be surprised if the city spurned such an offer. There shouldn't be an issue of having events at both facilities at the same time as the Fire have home games only 2 or 3 times a month.

And in those 4 above .500 seasons, the Pirates were averaging between 27.7k and 30.8k people per game. The only seasons the Sox have averaged at least that in the last 30 years were 2005-2009. At the conclusion of this season, the Pirates' current pennant drought will SURPASS the one the Sox had from 1959 to 2005, which at the time was an American League record. Wow! The only team with a longer current drought are the Mariners, who have never won a pennant since they joined MLB as an expansion team in 1977.

San Diego is also the only MLB city that has no other major sports franchise. They didn't even have an MLS team until this year. Baltimore took a huge hit by losing half of their market when the Nats arrived in DC. They did draw well when the team played well between 2012-2016 and actually won some postseason games in that time.

According to AI, here are the reasons why the Rockies draw well despite the terrible team. Reasons for Good Attendance Loyal Fanbase: The Rockies boast a dedicated fanbase that continues to support the team, even during a period of historically bad performance. Attractive Stadium and Location: Coors Field is in a vibrant part of Denver and offers a unique fan experience that draws people to the ballpark. Affordable Tickets: Low ticket prices, particularly for outfield seats, make attending games accessible for many fans. Favorable Environment: The ballpark's weather and general atmosphere also contribute to bringing in large crowds. Also, I asked a slightly different way and got this: Cultural Factors Transplant City: Denver is a city with a large population of people who have moved from other places. Many of these transplants remain loyal to their original home teams, outnumbering Rockies fans and showing up to support other teams when they play in Denver. Social Hub: Coors Field, the Rockies' stadium, is situated in Denver's vibrant downtown area and is often described as the "best bar in Denver" due to its high attendance even when the team performs poorly. Ballpark & Experience Coors Field Experience: The stadium itself offers a unique experience, contributing to a fun and social outing. The high altitude at Coors Field also makes it a "home run friendly" ballpark, which can enhance the fan experience. Atmosphere: Even with a struggling team, the overall game-day experience and atmosphere at Coors Field remain enjoyable. Financial Incentives Lower Ticket Prices: The Rockies have relatively lower ticket prices compared to other major professional sports teams in the city, making it more affordable for fans to attend games, regardless of the team's on-field performance. These factors create a situation where a strong game-day experience and loyal fanbase, along with affordability, can keep attendance high even when the on-field team is historically bad.

These numbers highlight MLB's competitive balance problem. All the rich, big market teams are packing them in and the bottom of the list is almost all small market teams and the White Sox and those teams are struggling to get people into the seats. There are a couple of outliers: San Diego is 3rd in attendance and perhaps a medium market? Milwaukee is averaging 32k/game and that's better than their small market status, but they're also the best team in baseball.

Well, we all know that Jerry likes to run this franchise like we're the Pittsburgh Pirates. Pittsburgh's MSA is about 1/4th of Chicago's (2.4M people vs. 9.6M people) and the Pirates arguably have been the worst MLB franchise over the last 30 years. I did some quick numbers crunching. In the 24 seasons since PNC Park opened, the Pirates have finished higher than 4th place only four times compared to 15 times for the Sox during that span including a WS title. The Pirates per game attendance was higher than the Sox in 10 of those 24 seasons. In another 2 of those seasons, the Sox average attendance was barely ahead of the Pirates (less than 1k per game). These aren't attendance numbers I'd like to toot my horn about as a Sox fan.

Soldier Field just hosted 5 sold-out concerts in 5 consecutive days. Those aren't the only concerts held there, either. https://wgntv.com/news/chicago-news/unprecedented-soldier-field-hosts-5-back-to-back-sold-out-shows/ Groups can petition all they want, I don't see the park district rushing to tear down a facility that can host such money-making events. I suppose all the big acts/events could shift to the new domed stadium in Arlington Heights, but I would think there'd still be a demand for big acts to perform right in the heart of the city.

You're last sentence is a huge issue and IMO a deal breaker for any notion of having the Sox build a baseball stadium on the site of Soldier Field. Also, they better build a retractable roof there with that cold wind blowing right off the lake.

When was the last time the Sox drafted AFTER the first round who ended up being a solid MLB player let alone an all-star? Skubal was a 9th round pick. Cease was a 6th round pick for the Cubs, Cal Raleigh was 3rd round, etc. We can barely get our 1st round picks right even when we have a high pick and our success after the first round has been dismal. This team is making progress, but still has a long ways to go. Marcus Semien (6th round) is the only one I can think of in the last 15 years....and of course we sent him to Oakland in a terrible trade before he became a big success.

Agreed. I don't think enough people outside of Chicago realize how beautiful the view of the skyline next to the lakefront is, but they sure get to see it when the Bears are playing on a national telecast. Yesterday's shots were stunning. A domed stadium complex at Arlington Park would be great for the team and I expect would be a top-notch facility, but it would be a shame to lose those "money shots".

Yes, that's my understanding - the Red Line already runs below where a 15th and Clark subway station has been proposed. Otherwise, as you had suggested, the cost to re-route the line would be insane.

It would be interesting to see a breakdown by age group of Sox fans who strongly believe the status quo of current stadium design and surroundings (namely, tons of surface lots) should remain vs. those who would be in favor of building on most of those lots or even a new South Loop stadium. Change is difficult and I get that. Anyone on this site is probably not a good person to ask, either, because we're all diehards who still care enough about this team to be here. At any rate, even though I (obviously) am a big proponent of a new ballpark at the 78, I'm more and more thinking that the likeliest outcome is for the team to stay at the current stadium. Even with the Ishbias' deep pockets, $1B+ for a new stadium really is a LOT of money after paying JR $2B(?) or so for the franchise itself. If so, we'll see what they have planned for the next 30 years or so as the team's current lease ends. I just hope there are some improvements coming.

Fair enough about whether people would walk. Some would. Right now, some people do walk 15 minutes to/from Union Station to catch the Red Line to a Sox or Cubs game. Do people walk 20 minutes to events/attractions downtown anymore? I don't know, maybe someone who spends more time at events there can weigh in. What do you mean by "make that detour"? Do you mean for a possible Red Line stop at 15th and Clark?

Excellent point. Seems like some people are acknowledging that Sox fans will only show up if they win big over multiple seasons. Either Sox fans are fair weather fans (which they are not) or the current ballpark situation isn't working that well for them. And maybe the answer will be staying at the current park but making major changes. Since you mentioned transit friendly, I wonder if there is current stadium in MLB that is as close to so many transit options as the 78 would be. Within a ~20 minute walk from that site is a station for every CTA L line except the Yellow line, the LaSalle Street Metra station, and Union Station (if they do indeed extend the Riverwalk all the way down to that site). I'm not even counting water taxis since I'm not sure how many people those could accommodate or how many fans would actually use them to get to games. And yes, there would have to be parking available at the site since not everyone can or will take mass transit.

The Bears issue an open letter about their intention to build a stadium in Arlington Heights. The letter suggests they could bid to host a Super Bowl as soon as 2031. https://www.chicagobears.com/news/open-letter-regarding-arlington-heights-stadium-from-president-ceo-kevin-warren

It took 62 years for someone to break the expansion 1962 Mets record of 120 losses. I'm in my 50s and I don't expect 121 losses to be broken in my lifetime even if I live as long as Jerry Reinsdorf.

Wow - that's a great baseball moment.....unless you're the Dodgers or a Dodgers fan, of course. Very thrilling.

For those who don't have a Trib subscription, here are the key points from the article: - Bears plan to publicly present their stadium plans (w/ Q&As) this fall and hope to break ground next spring. - Legislative action to give the Bears power to negotiate property taxes is a long shot in the brief fall veto session and will have to be addressed next spring. Legislator from Arlington Hts says they want to get the bill right, not get it done fast. - Only 3 other NFL stadiums have been privately financed: SoFi, MetLife, and Gillette. Each are in the suburbs and have had help with tax breaks, tax-funded infrastructure, and/or a nearby entertainment zone. Two of these three stadiums are shared by 2 teams.