Dick Allen

QUOTE (captain54 @ Aug 25, 2016 -> 01:03 PM) Man, you nailed it.. with the glow of 2005 completely faded and a fan base on a serious decline, consistently mainly of the diehards.. I think going nowhere would be about right… a sports franchise is about image and perception (is this the cool place to be?)… in addition to an exciting product on the field. . read some interviews with Andrew Berlin, one of the Sox investors and potential new owner… these are almost his exact words, verbatim.. I think the vast majority of people who attend Sox games have a lot of fun. The name change isn't going to do anything to harm that. It may actually provide funds or new amenities to make it even better. As to the product on the field, it hasn't been up to par, everyone knows that. They are trying. No one is giving them a pass except for maybe the people who think Rick Hahn is somehow not responsible for anything. Things do have to change. The ironic thing is many fans complaining about the team not being competitive don't want them to even try to be competitive. They want them to trade all of their good players away, thinking that it will somehow guarantee a good 7 or 8 year run in 2 or 3 years. Which is based on models like the Cubs who are able to take proceeds from 3 million fans coming to the park during 95 loss seasons and spending wildly internationally and in the free agent market.

QUOTE (Chet Kincaid @ Aug 25, 2016 -> 11:22 AM) A good fix for this would be if they changed the name of the company from Guaranteed Rate to something more desirable. Guaranteed Rate Field sounds like a minor league ballpark. So did US Cellular Field. Some would say it's appropriate.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Aug 25, 2016 -> 10:57 AM) Especially since the new Solider Field is a joke itself. And they sold naming rights as well. PNC Suites in Soldier Field. PNC Center at Halas Hall.

QUOTE (Iwritecode @ Aug 25, 2016 -> 09:43 AM) I'm in Rockford and still have US cellular service. We still have at least two stores in town, plus a couple of small kiosks in the mall. I had US Cellular service in Chicago until it was discontinued. I had 2 months left on my contract when I went to ATT and even though they got out of the area and told us we needed to switch carriers, they still tried to charge after we switched. It took about 10 phone calls and hours and hours to get it finally straightened out. They were great when I had the service.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Aug 25, 2016 -> 09:28 AM) Far worse than a name change. And if you want, go see what I had to say about him in 2012. If someone was OK with Brett Myers but embarrassed about this name change, they are screwed up IMO.

QUOTE (bmags @ Aug 25, 2016 -> 09:08 AM) This post appears to aim that we should be thanking Jerry for saving the state for paying for his f'ing stadium's construction and maintenance by auctioning off the franchises dignity to a bunch of wrigleyville lending bros. Thanks Jerry. No. I actually am totally against publicly funded stadiums. I'm just showing that this deal is a positive for taxpayers of IL. That is what really matters. The state will get more money. I don't know if Guaranteed Rate is a good company or not, I would imagine they were vetted, but we can find lawsuits and huge fines with any large company. If JP Morgan Chase bought the rights would anyone complain? They have been fined billions of dollars.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Aug 25, 2016 -> 08:49 AM) The White Sox also have employed players (just named two) not unlike Aroldis Chapman who were abusive to their wives....but now we're outraged when the Cubs do the same thing? The point was the Cubs fans who are cheering on a wife beater are now making fun of a stadium name. Seems pretty ridiculous to me. If you have no problem cheering on total known to be assholes, a corporate name on a park shouldn't bother you at all, especially considering it was going to be some corporate name anyway and they took the best deal.

ISFA Chairman Manny Sanchez said that move could save the stadium authority as much as $25 million in facility upgrades over the course of the final years of the Sox's lease. "That's a huge piece of this from an ISFA perspective," Sanchez said. "This is something that is a really, really serendipitous godsend that we have encountered." Revenue and savings late during the next decade will be critical for ISFA, which uses hotel tax revenue and annual city and state subsidies to pay off the debt from the renovation of Soldier Field and the construction and maintenance of the Sox's park. That annual debt obligation will steadily balloon from $38.5 million for the year ending June 30, 2017 to $87 million in 2032.

QUOTE (Hatchetman @ Aug 25, 2016 -> 08:32 AM) Yeah, we've been there done that ourselves. Not all of us.

QUOTE (Hatchetman @ Aug 25, 2016 -> 08:30 AM) Of course they took the best deal. We don't know if John Deere, or any other well respected company, was interested in being associated with the White Sox at all. Probably not. Why would John Deere want to pay millions to name a park in Chicago? Why haven't they hooked up with any other team? Is it just the White Sox these companies don't want to be associated? I think the White Sox actually have a pretty good reputation in the business community.

QUOTE (shipps @ Aug 25, 2016 -> 08:28 AM) Due to the awfulness there are millions of more people that have now heard the name. This has been a national news story. No such thing as bad pub. There are people that are so up in arms about this name change, yet wouldn't mind if a wife beater was on the roster if it helped the team win. Let Cubs fans make fun of the name, and least we aren't cheering for wife beaters.

QUOTE (Hatchetman @ Aug 25, 2016 -> 08:21 AM) I chuckled and shook my head when I heard the news. Par for the course with this franchise. If that is all they could find, what can you do? And the G.R. guy said the White Sox sought them out, not the other way around. How about John Deere Field? Caterpillar Park? The CAT would sound pretty cool. Wallgreens? ADM? ConAgra? So you think Guaranteed Rate was the White Sox first and only call? Maybe these other companies don't see value in putting their name on a stadium. It probably would be very hard to determine what kind of business is generated just by purchasing naming rights. I'm sure they took the best deal. I really doubt they were thinking, let's pick these guys because it will really piss some people off. If the White Sox were in first place right now, people wouldn't care about this at all. It's just a case of trying to kick someone when they are down.

QUOTE (Middle Buffalo @ Aug 25, 2016 -> 08:09 AM) At this point, I'm just calling it Sox park because it's bound to change every 7-10 years. It's not a great name, but other than being named after a company I've never heard of and the name not rolling of the tongue, I don't see how it's different from Wrigley or Busch or whatever. Actually, I think it's more offensive for the Yankees to knock down Yankee stadium and build a new place and call it the same thing. Same with Comiskey. As far as corporate promotions go, I'm more offended when the Sox have a hat giveaway and the Pepsi logo is as big as the Sox logo. Those go straight to Goodwill. Yes, I agree. Yankee Stadium, Comiskey Park, I think Madison Square Garden is at their 3rd or 4th location. Those are gone. Name it something else.These people that hate the name, what would they think if the state got no money and they called it Reinsdorf Field? I'm pretty sure Thad Bosley would be in intensive care.

QUOTE (Thad Bosley @ Aug 25, 2016 -> 08:04 AM) Again, one more time - the fans are NOT the INVESTORS. Jerry Reinsdorf and his partners are the INVESTORS. It is their job and their job only to invest in the product they are trying to sell to make it compelling enough for the fans, i.e., the CONSUMERS, to spend their money on the product. Economics 101. So wouldn't it make sense they get out of their $68 million 20 year contract with US Cellular , and enter into a new one for 13 years and $88 million with Guaranteed Rate? Economics 101 would seem to think that's a pretty good move.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Aug 25, 2016 -> 07:59 AM) Obviously they could care less what anyone thinks...and I'm married anyway. But imagine going on your first date and your gf keeps the ticket stubs as a memory in her scrapbook and the first thing you read in big bold letters is Guaranteed Rate Field. It's bush league. OMG

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Aug 25, 2016 -> 07:16 AM) Eh, you can rationalize this all you want, but you are still missing the essential truth at the base of it all. If the fanbase invests in the franchise, the franchise is better for it. If they don't, they are worse off. The results of the fan base are right in front of you. Exactly. If fans really want to be like the Cubs, it means drawing 3 million when the team sucks and is going to suck. Besides, this naming rights thing is more for the state than the team. The White Sox cut goes to pay down the renovations. The state gets the rest. For all those so opposed to JR's sweetheart deal, they should be happy a company wants to help the taxpayers of IL out a bit.

QUOTE (Chicago White Sox @ Aug 25, 2016 -> 07:10 AM) While I will fully acknowledge that I'm overreacting to this news, let's not pretend this name change is meaningless. Brands do matter and this joke of a name and logo doesn't help ours. And while many of us will get over this eventually, the name will continue to be the butt of jokes for years to come. Hell, two local sporting entertainment rivals have already mocked us over this, that should tell you something. Why does the name matter? How many people will decide not to go to the park because it's named Guaranteed Rate Field? Yeah, it's a stupid name, but so is US Cellular Field or the "Cell", especially considering you can't even get US Cellular in Chicago. Besides, is this the White Sox call or the actual people who own the stadiums call?

People laughing about the name of the park in which you had no role naming? Oh my God. How are you guys going to cope? Get counseling.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Aug 24, 2016 -> 08:03 PM) The class action complaint alleges that the mortgage lender unlawfully paid loan officers below minimum wage, failed to compensate them for overtime hours worked and unjustly deducted expenses from previously earned wages, in violation of state wage and hour laws. The complaint asserts that Guaranteed Rate incorrectly and intentionally classified loan officers as “outside salespeople,” making them exempt from some minimum wage and overtime regulations. However, these outside sales employees claim to have spent more than 50 percent of their working time in their homes, which the employees argue is considered the employer’s places of business for purposes of the outside sales exemption from minimum and overtime wage laws. https://www.bigclassaction.com/lawsuit/guar...lass-action.php Great, the Uber of loan companies. Will fit right in with Sox plans, schemes and off-season themes... Just stop.

QUOTE (SoxAce @ Aug 24, 2016 -> 07:13 PM) Embarrassing FOR THEM. r*pe was one of the words used as well as empty stadium, etc. Just no class. At least I'm working the "guaranteed to never win" angle for them. No reason to be embarrassed for them. Besides, they don't care one iota about the Sox. It is the Sox fans that obsess about the Cubs. Just ask one.

QUOTE (SoxAce @ Aug 24, 2016 -> 07:03 PM) Cubs fans are having a field day with this name at work currently. It's embarrassing. You must embarrass easily.. Once they go corporate, Who care sabout a park name? Why weren't you embarrassed by a nickname that made it seem like a prison?

The guy on CSN just said it is an $88 million deal considering the USCellulae deal was 7 years longer and $20 million less, this a better deal for taxpayers.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Aug 24, 2016 -> 06:30 PM) Were the Sox EVER going to give up the draft pick for him? The answer to that was obviously no. Ergo, the only possibly way they would have signed him would be the same way in which Morales signed with the Twins and Drew with the Yankees two years ago. Not rocket science. And obviously the Rangers are a much better run organization than the Sox, because they already have enough power arms in their pen and minors the draft pick is more or less immaterial. You posted the June stuff in the Sox talking to Desmomd. They were certainly considering it. Nice spin too bad that is what it is. Besides, you wanting to trade Quintana for Puig would have left no room in the OF. Also your interest in Hector Olivera doesn't seem so bright now either. Besides you posted it in the same thread you said pay Latos $10 million and Parra $8 million. 2 things the Sox wouldn't do either. When they signed Latos for much cheaper you complained saying not enough teams were interested. I wonder why you didn't say that about Desmond. And you went through all the palmtops with Parra and Avi, never even mentioning Desmomd. One thing is for sure. If the Sox signed Desmond, gave up the pick and he failed, you would be mentioning how stupid the move was considering he had been trending down 3 straight years, and spinning your idea of June as being smart because they would at least have the draft pick. And the draft pick also shows how full of s*** you are. You blast them for not making Burdi a starter, but in another thread point out how Frankie Montas would have been a big help to the bullpen this year if they only hadn't stupidly traded him. Not only ignoring he has been hurt all year, but making HIM a reliever. Something you said was stupid to do with Burdi.LMAO.

ISFA guy says the State will get up to $6.4 million from this agreement. Considering the U.S.Cellular was a $68 million 20 year agreement, it is a better deal. The White Sox will still get paid the amount from the U.S.Cellular contract until 2026 to pay down the cost of the renovation. The ISFA gets the rest. So $3 million a year until 2026 then $6.4 million after that. So it is almost double.

As a resident of the state off Illinois, I don't care about the name, U.S. Cellular sounded like a 5k park in Peoria, just get whoever is paying the most money. I doubt the Sox share in this anyway. The ballpark might get some more amenities.