77 Hitmen

....and if there's one franchise that really needs to do something to significantly move the needle, it's the White Sox. After years of losing market share to the Cubs under JR's incompetence, it's going to take more than just making it to the first round of the playoffs on a regular basis to really change the dynamics in Chicago.

That's how I feel about it. I've obviously been pretty vocal in this thread in favor of a new ballpark at the 78, but it would be sad for them to leave 35th & Shields. I've had a lot of good memories at the current park bringing my kids there as they were growing up and it would be hard to say goodbye to that. I used to be a huge advocate for the current park - blaming the poor image it has outside of the Sox fan base on Cubs fans and other "haters". But over time, I decided to stop deluding myself into thinking the bad press it gets is because the world is against the White Sox. Going to several other ballparks in other cities also helped open my eyes to how much more character they and their surroundings had and how generic and isolated from its surroundings Rate Field is. Maybe they can do something to develop an entertainment district at the current location. We'll see, I have my doubts that such a thing could get enough visitors year round to Bridgeport to be a success, but I'd be happy to be proven wrong about that. Building a new ballpark at the site of Old Comiskey would be one way to erase all the inherent design flaws of the current stadium that can't be fixed by more renovations, but they'd still have to address the lack of other things to do around the area. That's just the economic reality today - expecting to draw a lot of fans to a ballpark who just want to drive there, see the game, and drive back home is rarely successful anymore.

Agreed that I wouldn't trust JR on the design of any new stadium given how badly he screwed up pre-renovations New Comiskey. But if the Sox build a new stadium, it'll be primarily funded by the Ishbias. They're not going to let Jerry dictate the ballpark design when they'd be the ones sinking something like $1B to get the place built.

Since 1995, after the new stadium bounce wore off, the White Sox have ranked higher than 15th in MLB attendance only ONCE - that was 2006 when they were reigning WS champs. One season in three decades.....that's it. Even when they were playing well, they were always in the bottom half of the league. They were actually in the bottom third of the league 19 times over this period. Here are the numbers and they don't lie: https://www.thebaseballcube.com/content/mlb_attendance/ The romanticized idea that they draw well at their current location if only they'd field a good team is total fan fiction. History has shown that fielding a competitive team gets them to around 15th to 17th in attendance and only winning a World Series gets them into the top 10. Having a stadium right off the expressway and with tons of surface parking lots isn't helping attendance despite the personal anecdotes about how great it is for individual fans. Other than rebuilding this organization, which is priority #1, the new owners are going to have to do something about the stadium situation going forward. There is no doubt in my mind that the incoming owners are well aware of this.

Topic back on track. .......you're welcome.

I'd say more on this, but it would probably (and rightfully) get this thread locked. Let's get back on track and argue about private equity firms, the uninhabitable dead zone known as the 78, and the virtues of the current Sox home - "There's Nothing Wrong With It" Field. Probably should have a separate thread for the Bears stadium saga, but this seems to have become a catch-all for all stadium proposals.

Interesting discussion with Laurence Holmes on WGN TV with Tahman Bradley about the Bears stadium IL vs. IN saga: https://wgntv.com/video/104-3-the-scores-laurence-holmes-talks-bears-potential-move-to-indiana-the-point/11496735/ A few takeaways if you don't want to watch the 10 minute video: - Bears stadium deal with IL was a lot closer to being done than Bears were leading people to believe - IL officials surprised by the timing of Warren's letter given the progress they've made - Warren/Bears didn't have a good understanding of city/county/state politics officials and that hurt their progress. They have a better understanding now. - Holmes thinks a deal for AH will get done, but the chances of them moving to Indiana are not zero.

Issue: Bears could choose Indiana over Illinois for their new stadium. Response: ThE TeAcHeRs UnIoNs ArE to BlAmE!!!!!! ThEy CoNtRoL IL ElEcTiOns!!!!!!!

If the Bears are running into this much resistance even with them offering to pay for the entire stadium, what does this mean for any chance of the Sox getting a stadium built at the 78....or even on the site of Old Comiskey? Certainly Ishbia will have to privately finance the entire cost of any new stadium. That might not be out of the question given his and his brother's deep pockets. But will state officials balk at any property tax relief or infrastructure spending for the Sox like they're doing with the Bears? Some of the Bears situation might be due to state reps from Chicago who want to kill the Arlington Heights project because the Bears will be leaving the city limits. Also, the debt on Soldier Field is immensely larger than the one on Rate Field. But the Bears are wayyyy more popular than the White Sox, so I don't expect anyone going out of their way to help the Sox get a stadium built.

I think the pressure has shifted and is now on IL officials to get a deal done or at least to demonstrate that the Bears' request is completely unreasonable. The highest any stadium pays in taxes as far as I know is SoFi stadium. If IL is holding out to stick the Bears with a $100M property tax bill, they'll end up with nothing. They aren't going to get $100M in taxes on that property when they carve it up to build a bunch of Costcos, car washes, apartment complexes, etc. It's an election year and there will be a lot of egg on people's faces - including the Governor - if the Bears sign a deal to move to Indiana after they offered to pay $2B for the stadium itself here. The Hoosier State will have a field day saying it's another example of people fleeing IL's high taxes....and that's why IN politicians from both sides of the aisle are eager to pass this quickly.

Can they sell naming rights for the bidet?

Here is WTTW's interview with Indiana state rep Earl Harris about the stadium bill they're pushing through. It passed the IN Senate 46-2. Off to the IN House next, but with such a lopsided passage in the Senate, I can't imagine there'd be problems getting this through their House. https://news.wttw.com/2026/02/04/indiana-lawmakers-continue-pushing-bears-stadium-let-s-get-it-moving If IL officials want to keep thumbing their noses at the Bears, a deal between the team and Indiana could happen fast.

Thank you, I'll be here all week.

This may come in handy when yet another season goes down the crapper.

Jerry Reinsdorf is a lot of things, but everything indicates that racist is not one of them. I can't thing of anything he's said or done as Sox owner over the years that shows that he's prejudiced against any minority group. The best explanations to me is that this snub is a) due to organization incompetence or b) veiled vindictiveness against someone who doesn't sing praises to the Sox organization. Both of those possibilities is very much on brand with Sox ownership. Who knows, maybe JR doesn't like the way Big Frank eats. Also, he's not a Boomer. Boomers are people born between 1946 and 1964. He predates that by almost a decade being born in Feb. 1936.

Ah yes, I somehow missed the "or" in that sentence. Too bad for all of us the "or" exists and is accurate.

That would be my guess. That's how things roll under Jerry Reinsdorf, if you're not a total loyalist, you're blacklisted. If you ARE a total loyalist, there's surely some important position for you in the front office.

"If not, we’ll have to wait until Justin Ishbia takes over in three or more years for the best player in Sox history to feel welcome back at Sox Park." Three more years at the earliest. Under his agreement with Ishbia, Jerry can choose not to invoke the option to sell the team until 2034!

Maybe Frank was too critical of the team during the 121 loss season. If you're not a total ass kisser, you're persona non grata in this organization - it's the Jerry Reinsdorf way.

Well, this is the organization who hired Schriffen to be their TV PBP guy. He didn't even know how to pronounce Bill Veeck's last name!

The Sox have one of the lowest payrolls in MLB and yet, Jerry wants to accept a lower return in talent from this trade so that he doesn't have to pay ANY of Robert's salary. Ridiculous, but very much expected. The Ishbia era can't arrive soon enough for us Sox fans.

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7007520/2026/01/30/mets-mlb-offseason-overhaul-bo-bichette/ "After agreeing to a deal with Bichette, the Mets informed Chicago they were willing to absorb all of Robert’s salary ($20 million for 2026), which lowered the asking price to Acuna and minor-league pitcher Truman Pauley."

I wonder when the insanity of NFL stadiums "needing" to be replaced every 25-30 years is going to end? The turnover seems to be much worse than in MLB where the only 1992 or later stadiums that were replaced were Turner Field and Globe Life Park....and they each had their own unique problems. Otherwise, I can't think of an MLB stadium in the post-Camden era (which is now into its 34th year) where there's any hint of replacement. Renovations, yes, but not outright abandonment. At least Arrowhead and Highmark are over 50 years old, but lots of other NFL teams are really pushing to replace their late 90s/early 00s stadiums.

In other stadium news, the Royals have ruled out Overland Park, KS as a location for their new stadium. With North Kansas City, MO already eliminated, it looks like downtown KC would be the only remaining viable option. I suppose they could remain at Kaufmann long-term, but based on everything the team has said, I don't see that happening. https://frontofficesports.com/royals-stadium-plans-hit-suburban-dead-end-push-back-downtown/