Arlington Heights making stadium pitch to White Sox?

[Texsox]

16 hours ago, caulfield12 said:

Unfortunately, haven't had a kind and benevolent US real estate developer since Jimmy Stewart in It's a Wonderful Life.

This. There are no sugar daddies wanting to bankrupt themselves buying championships. 

The Rangers won a championship after moving to Arlington. 

[Sarava]

I know its not popular with a lot of Sox fans, but I would love the Sox in AH. It would take a little time, but they'd eventually turn the entire NW burbs in to Sox territory. The ease of going to games over the grueling commute in to Chicago would be amazing.

[greg775]

From what I've heard about Chicago, city leaders right now don't deserve two teams. Moving to Arlington Heights with the Bears would be amazing. Build two incredible stadiums, put up an amazing practice facility for the Bears and some Sox themed bars and restaurants. Make it a huge deal like the Cowboys in their complex.

[soxfan18]

20 hours ago, Texsox said:

This. There are no sugar daddies wanting to bankrupt themselves buying championships. 

The Rangers won a championship after moving to Arlington. 

The Rangers have only ever played in Arlington (unless you count the time they were named the Washington Senators). 

[77 Hitmen]

Everyone repeat after me:  The Sox are NOT MOVING TO ARLINGTON HEIGHTS. 

Outside of the first couple of seasons and after a WS title (if that ever happens again), they would never get close to averaging 30k a game over an 81 game home schedule (which is what it would take to reach 2.5M annual attendance) at a suburban location that is only convenient to those who live in or near the NW suburbs.  I grew up in the NW suburbs and love the area, but it would be a total disaster for the franchise.  Even if there's a decent # of Sox fans in the NW suburbs.  No way it's even close to half the baseball fans out there.   And people who live in the city or SW/South suburbs?  You can forget about drawing them to more than a couple of games a year.  That's writing off a huge chunk of their fan base.

The next long term home for the Sox is either going to be at 35th and Shields or at the 78.   Not AH, not Tinley Park, and not Nashville.  

Edited April 8 by 77 Hitmen

[The Mighty Mite]

13 hours ago, 77 Hitmen said:

Everyone repeat after me:  The Sox are NOT MOVING TO ARLINGTON HEIGHTS. 

Outside of the first couple of seasons and after a WS title (if that ever happens again), they would never get close to averaging 30k a game over an 81 game home schedule (which is what it would take to reach 2.5M annual attendance) at a suburban location that is only convenient to those who live in or near the NW suburbs.  I grew up in the NW suburbs and love the area, but it would be a total disaster for the franchise.  Even if there's a decent # of Sox fans in the NW suburbs.  No way it's even close to half the baseball fans out there.   And people who live in the city or SW/South suburbs?  You can forget about drawing them to more than a couple of games a year.  That's writing off a huge chunk of their fan base.

The next long term home for the Sox is either going to be at 35th and Shields or at the 78.   Not AH, not Tinley Park, and not Nashville.  

This is just me but we moved out to Bloomingdale and then Wheaton in DuPage county in the early 70s and let me tell you it was a lot easier getting up to bet on the nags at Arlington Park then to get to old and new Comiskey. We moved to Florida in 1993 so I’m not sure how the traffic patterns have changed but I would guess that the many Sox fans who live in the SW suburbs wouldn’t have a problem if the Sox moved to Arlington Heights. The fans who would be hurt most would are probably those who live in the South burbs and NW Indiana along with those who live in the city and rely on the CTA to get to places but the Metro NW commuter line stops at the Arlington Park site so I don’t see much of a problem there for city fans.

 

[The Mighty Mite]

16 minutes ago, The Mighty Mite said:

This is just me but we moved out to Bloomingdale and then Wheaton in DuPage county in the early 70s and let me tell you it was a lot easier getting up to bet on the nags at Arlington Park then to get to old and new Comiskey. We moved to Florida in 1993 so I’m not sure how the traffic patterns have changed but I would guess that the many Sox fans who live in the SW suburbs wouldn’t have a problem if the Sox moved to Arlington Heights. The fans who would be hurt most would are probably those who live in the South burbs and NW Indiana along with those who live in the city and rely on the CTA to get to places but the Metro NW commuter line stops at the Arlington Park site so I don’t see much of a problem there for city fans. 
Another thing is that there are almost 10 million in the Chicago Metro area and and only 2.6 live in the city with 7.4 million in the suburbs, seems like a no brainer. That being said I still maintain that if the Sox ever moved to the burbs the area around Hillside would be best which would place a stadium just about right in the middle of the Metro area.

 

 

Edited April 9 by The Mighty Mite

[tray]

ISFA will do whatever it takes (again) to keep the Sox on 35th. If there was an alternate location me and some Southsiders would be OK with the Credit Union 1 site in Tinley. 

[Texsox]

Aren't there more people living in the suburbs than the city? 

[mac9001]

Go check out any suburban stadium development with acres of entertainment, food and booze options. There's never a shortage of people. This is definitely one of those if you build it they will come. The 78 would make for a great location, but you could devote 80 acres in AH to just bars/restaurants/entertainment, right now you'd have to walk to Michigan Ave from the 78 until you hit any notable density of food/drink options (not bad but still 4 blocks). If the 78 for whatever reason does not work out and there won't be another opportunity like the AH development and you sure as hell won't find a development partner that would bring the kind of serious cash that the Bears/NFL would funnel into that site.

 

[WBWSF]

I read on Google that the White Sox are now  considering 3 options for a stadium. Arlington Heights, South Loop and staying  at the present location. I wouldn't be all that surprised if a stadium was built in Arlington Heights.

[PaleAleSox]

On 4/9/2025 at 9:49 PM, mac9001 said:

Go check out any suburban stadium development with acres of entertainment, food and booze options. There's never a shortage of people. This is definitely one of those if you build it they will come. The 78 would make for a great location, but you could devote 80 acres in AH to just bars/restaurants/entertainment, right now you'd have to walk to Michigan Ave from the 78 until you hit any notable density of food/drink options (not bad but still 4 blocks). If the 78 for whatever reason does not work out and there won't be another opportunity like the AH development and you sure as hell won't find a development partner that would bring the kind of serious cash that the Bears/NFL would funnel into that site.

 

Between Bears/Sox/special events it would be a gold mine. Sox playing in AH would be weird as hell, though.

[Lip Man 1]

No mention at all of the White Sox:

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/05/16/bears-stadium-chicago-arlington-heights/

[greg775]

If the Bears move out there I betcha the Sox follow suit. It will be a glorious district for baseball/football. Kind of a hassle getting out there. I never liked that drive from western suburbs to O'Hare or the horse track. Scary drive.

[77 Hitmen]

Lots of stories in the local news today about the Bears shifting their focus back to Arlington Heights.  I have yet to hear the Sox mentioned as a possible co-tenant on the Arlington Park land.

The only mention of the Sox that I'm aware of is from weeks ago when the incoming new AH mayor was dreaming out loud about bring the Sox to the site, too.  

 

[Kyyle23]

12 hours ago, greg775 said:

If the Bears move out there I betcha the Sox follow suit. It will be a glorious district for baseball/football. Kind of a hassle getting out there. I never liked that drive from western suburbs to O'Hare or the horse track. Scary drive.

Dude as usual you have no idea what you are talking about 

[oldsox]

37 minutes ago, Kyyle23 said:

Dude as usual you have no idea what you are talking about 

Bears, Sox, or traffic?

[Kyyle23]

11 minutes ago, oldsox said:

Bears, Sox, or traffic?

The drive from ohare to AH

[Dick Allen]

If the requirement is that someone has to build the Sox a new park, there is no way Arlington Heights is going to build them a new park.

[Lightly Folded]

I have no way of knowing but am curious as to which site (AH or the 78) would be more costly including infrastructure etc. 

[WBWSF]

I think the concept of  developement around a new Bears stadium in Arlington Heights is a myth. At most a new Bears stadium might have 30 dates. No hotels or restaurants are going to go in there with those few dates. If you put a baseball stadium for the White Sox next to the Bears stadium. I would think that more developement would occur.

[Lip Man 1]

2 hours ago, WBWSF said:

I think the concept of  developement around a new Bears stadium in Arlington Heights is a myth. At most a new Bears stadium might have 30 dates. No hotels or restaurants are going to go in there with those few dates. If you put a baseball stadium for the White Sox next to the Bears stadium. I would think that more developement would occur.

As long as JR pays for it.

[greg775]

9 hours ago, Kyyle23 said:

Dude as usual you have no idea what you are talking about 

I'm the one who said yesterday get Elko in the lineup. Fireable offense if he doesn't start every day (cept for the occasional day off) the rest of the way. Boom.

[77 Hitmen]

7 hours ago, WBWSF said:

I think the concept of  developement around a new Bears stadium in Arlington Heights is a myth. At most a new Bears stadium might have 30 dates. No hotels or restaurants are going to go in there with those few dates. If you put a baseball stadium for the White Sox next to the Bears stadium. I would think that more developement would occur.

State Farm Stadium in Arizona says they have 120 events per year.  https://www.statefarmstadium.com/about   So, 30 dates is perhaps a low estimate.   I don't know how that compares to other indoor football stadiums such as the ones in Minneapolis, Detroit, or Indy.

An indoor stadium in AH could very well host Beyonce/Taylor Swift-level mega concerts and not worry about winter weather or (as was the case this week) thunderstorms.

 

Edited May 17 by 77 Hitmen

[77 Hitmen]

10 hours ago, Dick Allen said:

If the requirement is that someone has to build the Sox a new park, there is no way Arlington Heights is going to build them a new park.

Yep.  It should be loud and clear to the White Sox by now that if they want a new stadium, it'll have to be privately financed except for infrastructure costs.

9 hours ago, Lightly Folded said:

I have no way of knowing but am curious as to which site (AH or the 78) would be more costly including infrastructure etc. 

Good question.  If I had to guess, I'd imagine sharing infrastructure costs at the AH would be less costly overall.  On the other hand, if the City of Chicago ever wants The 78 to be developed into anything but a vacant lot, it's going to involve a lot of infrastructure costs. 

The factors driving the Bears back to AH over the site next to Soldier Field seem a lot more obvious.  First there's a huge legal barrier in trying to build on the lakefront site and then the costs to develop that site that has been floated are astronomical.  

 

6 hours ago, Lip Man 1 said:

As long as JR pays for it.

Or the Ishbia brothers.