22 minutes ago, southsider2k5 said:

Hence there not being room for a small project to get done here.

I am agreeing with you and you seem to he arguing with me. Weird.

Justin Ishbia set to buy massive South Loop rail yard for...

The future White Sox owner could take control of a valuable tract of land across the river from where current Sox Chairman Jerry Reinsdorf wants to build a new ballpark.

1 hour ago, KennyPowers said:

Justin Ishbia set to buy massive South Loop rail yard for...

The future White Sox owner could take control of a valuable tract of land across the river from where current Sox Chairman Jerry Reinsdorf wants to build a new ballpark.

BUT THINK OF THE SOIL SAMPLES

1 hour ago, KennyPowers said:

Justin Ishbia set to buy massive South Loop rail yard for...

The future White Sox owner could take control of a valuable tract of land across the river from where current Sox Chairman Jerry Reinsdorf wants to build a new ballpark.

Ishbia really likes the location, damn.

I don’t know about the feasibility of baseball V football, but if football is also feasible there, just another example of how the McCaskeys are a curse on Chicago. Virginia McCaskey got so much slack while being a lousy owner. George is not better. But for some reason ‘the old lady’ got some measure of respect while she sucked balls.

I wonder if he would build the ballpark there or leave the park in the 78 and build the "village" and parking in the land he just bought. I wish JR would just give him total control right now under the premise of can't waste 4 or 5 years. JR should understand that.

2 minutes ago, Dick Allen said:

I wonder if he would build the ballpark there or leave the park in the 78 and build the "village" and parking in the land he just bought. I wish JR would just give him total control right now under the premise of can't waste 4 or 5 years. JR should understand that.

The "agreement" is just a vehicle to avoid taxes. It isn't going to stop anything from going forward.

I also thought this was an interesting quote from the Crain's article today

Mansueto recently told Crain’s he is open to a discussion with the Sox about sharing the 78, calling that prospect “an exciting vision” for the 62-acre site to give it “more critical mass.” But Ald. Pat Dowell, 3rd, whose ard includes the 78 site, poured cold water on the idea of the Sox joining the Fire and told Crain’s the site is “too small for two stadiums.”

.....

Asked about Ishbia’s deal with Amtrak and the team’s stadium push, a Sox spokesman said in a statement that the White Sox’s focus “has been and continues to be solely on the potential of a new ballpark at The 78.”

So in summary.

-The Sox still want to be in the 78

-If the Sox do go into the 78, this probably becomes the ballpark village concept

-If the Sox don't go into the 78, this becomes the ballpark.

-The Sox now have two scenarios to leave Bridgeport in.

-I almost have to wonder out loud if the Sox could actually landswap with Amtrak to aid in getting something done.

1 hour ago, Dick Allen said:

I wonder if he would build the ballpark there or leave the park in the 78 and build the "village" and parking in the land he just bought. I wish JR would just give him total control right now under the premise of can't waste 4 or 5 years. JR should understand that.

The Amtrak land could be an aesthetically better site for a ballpark. The view of downtown is more aligned with left-center field, rather than down the third base line. They might even be able to design it so that home runs to right field land in the river.

Sox Machine on this story:

https://soxmachine.com/2026/03/report-justin-ishbia-nearing-deal-for-potential-alternate-south-loop-white-sox-ballpark-site

2 hours ago, Dick Allen said:

I wonder if he would build the ballpark there or leave the park in the 78 and build the "village" and parking in the land he just bought.

1 hour ago, southsider2k5 said:

So in summary.

-The Sox still want to be in the 78

-If the Sox do go into the 78, this probably becomes the ballpark village concept

-If the Sox don't go into the 78, this becomes the ballpark.

-The Sox now have two scenarios to leave Bridgeport in.

-I almost have to wonder out loud if the Sox could actually landswap with Amtrak to aid in getting something done.

1 hour ago, kba said:

The Amtrak land could be an aesthetically better site for a ballpark. The view of downtown is more aligned with left-center field, rather than down the third base line. They might even be able to design it so that home runs to right field land in the river.

I'm trying to visualize whether the Amtrak yard is wide enough to accommodate a stadium. They still need to keep tracks for trains to go through. Also, if you look at the train yard there that is between Canal St. on the west and the river on the east, note that the western half of that yard is Metra's rail yard and Amtrak's yard is on the eastern half of that piece of land.

Maybe a stadium would fit there, I don't know. Perhaps it's the 2nd option that @Dick Allen mentioned above - use that land for parking and ballpark village. I'm sure someone with graphic editing tools could take a ballpark shape and superimpose it over that tract of land. Either way, there would need to be a pedestrian bridge over the river to connect the two sites.

At any rate, it's a strong indicator that the future Sox owner is serious about moving the team to the South Loop.

9 minutes ago, 77 Hitmen said:

I'm trying to visualize whether the Amtrak yard is wide enough to accommodate a stadium. They still need to keep tracks for trains to go through. Also, if you look at the train yard there that is between Canal St. on the west and the river on the east, note that the western half of that yard is Metra's rail yard and Amtrak's yard is on the eastern half of that piece of land.

Maybe a stadium would fit there, I don't know. Perhaps it's the 2nd option that @Dick Allen mentioned above - use that land for parking and ballpark village. I'm sure someone with graphic editing tools could take a ballpark shape and superimpose it over that tract of land. Either way, there would need to be a pedestrian bridge over the river to connect the two sites.

At any rate, it's a strong indicator that the future Sox owner is serious about moving the team to the South Loop.

2 hours ago, Sleepy Harold said:

I also thought this was an interesting quote from the Crain's article today

Mansueto recently told Crain’s he is open to a discussion with the Sox about sharing the 78, calling that prospect “an exciting vision” for the 62-acre site to give it “more critical mass.” But Ald. Pat Dowell, 3rd, whose ard includes the 78 site, poured cold water on the idea of the Sox joining the Fire and told Crain’s the site is “too small for two stadiums.”

.....

Asked about Ishbia’s deal with Amtrak and the team’s stadium push, a Sox spokesman said in a statement that the White Sox’s focus “has been and continues to be solely on the potential of a new ballpark at The 78.”

The Fire only play 2-3 home games a month and the new MLS schedule will have a summer break from when the playoffs end in May to mid-July. So, many prime summer weeks with no Fire games. I know Mansueto envisions using the Fire stadium for concerts and other events, so it won't sit empty for 7 or 8 weeks, but how many other events can they book there? That's a lot of downtime in the middle of the summer for any entertainment district that they want to build at the site.

I know the Alderwoman is against the Sox moving there, but if the city actually roadblocks a $1B privately-financed stadium development on land that's been vacant for over 50 years, then it's another sign that businesses just can't get things done with the city. Use the Rate Field land to build the much-needed housing if the Sox want to move to the South Loop.

Edited March 18Mar 18 by 77 Hitmen

3 minutes ago, 77 Hitmen said:

The Fire only play 2-3 home games a month and the new MLS schedule will have a summer break from when the playoffs end in May to mid-July. So, many prime summer weeks with no Fire games. I know Mansueto envisions using the Fire stadium for concerts and other events, but otherwise that's a lot of downtime in the middle of the summer for any entertainment district that they want to build there.

I know the Alderwoman is against the Sox moving there, but if the city actually roadblocks a $1B privately-financed stadium development on land that's been vacant for over 50 years, then it's another sign that businesses just can't get things done with the city. Use the Rate Field land to build the much-needed housing if the Sox want to move to the South Loop.

lol, the Alderman wants their cut, that's all. It's how Chicago works. They get veto power over projects in their ward, and they get something in exchange for "allowing" a project.

18 minutes ago, DoUEvenShift said:

19 minutes ago, DoUEvenShift said:

Definitely a tight squeeze.

Hitting the ball into the river would be nice.

I wonder if they are in talks with BNSF as well. Even getting a fraction of their plot to extend stadium area a little further west would be huge. The current train route would have to move to tracks further west so I'm not sure if it's feasible.

Regardless if they are just stuck with Amtrak plot, would BNSF be able to add a station?

Interesting details in the Crain's article about how far along this project is.

Ishbia's team has already met with the mayor's office, filed "an intent to submit an application" for a federal loan of $383 million through a program designed to finance railroad infrastructure, and has hired three lobbyists to lobby Congress to pass the "All Aboard America Act" to provide more railroad funding.

Either Ishbia really likes trains, or he's putting his political muscle into helping move the rail yards off of this property.

"All that said, mapping out a future home of the White Sox may be premature. Shore Capital hasn't announced a ballpark as part of its initial plans. So far, Shore issued a statement to Crain's saying that the firm is exploring a "potential healthcare facility and medical innovation hub" with Northwestern Medicine, whose board Ishbia sits on."

Based on this quote I don't see much reason to get excited yet. They're not going to put a baseball park AND the above on that plot.

5 hours ago, southsider2k5 said:

So in summary.

-The Sox still want to be in the 78

-If the Sox do go into the 78, this probably becomes the ballpark village concept

-If the Sox don't go into the 78, this becomes the ballpark.

-The Sox now have two scenarios to leave Bridgeport in.

-I almost have to wonder out loud if the Sox could actually landswap with Amtrak to aid in getting something done.

Yep, this gives the Sox more options in pursuing a stadium in the South Loop while leaving space for parking and commercial development (aka "ballpark village"). The fact that Isbhia is working on purchasing a huge, 47-acre tract of land right across the river from the 78 sure makes it look like he intends to have the team leave 2nd Rate Field in the not to distant future.

It sounds like Amtrak was already wanting to move their railyard to another location. From the Crain's article:

"Relocating Amtrak’s maintenance facility to a larger space with modern improvements was previously identified as a necessary step in the broader Chicago Hub Improvement Program, or CHIP, to improve Midwest passenger transit."

4 hours ago, Lip Man 1 said:

Sox Machine on this story:

https://soxmachine.com/2026/03/report-justin-ishbia-nearing-deal-for-potential-alternate-south-loop-white-sox-ballpark-site

Has @tray weighed in on this yet?

Silt bed quality, enough room for plenty of parking, ingress and egress options, etc.?

3 hours ago, DoUEvenShift said:

I wonder if they are in talks with BNSF as well. Even getting a fraction of their plot to extend stadium area a little further west would be huge. The current train route would have to move to tracks further west so I'm not sure if it's feasible.

Regardless if they are just stuck with Amtrak plot, would BNSF be able to add a station?

I was finally able to read the full paywalled article - seems like this is at least being considered

The property is bordered on the western edge by an active railway running into Union Station and a roughly 20-acre rail yard owned by railroad operator BNSF, potentially providing greater flexibility to Ishbia if he can take control of both yards.

A spokesperson for BNSF did not respond to a request for comment.

Having a ballpark on the river would be amazing