20 hours ago, 77 Hitmen said:

It looks like Target Field provides heating in areas like concessions, restrooms, and lounges. I don't know if anyone here has been there to confirm this. https://ballparkauthority.com/Facts.html.

A number of ballparks are moving toward having more common space areas throughout the stadium. Perhaps those areas, if the Sox build a new stadium, could include radiant heating on colder days like you see at some outdoor restaurants.

They definitely should spread out the suites more and almost certainly will. I've been to a dozen ballparks and many have the luxury suites blended in well throughout the park. I can't think of another ballpark that I've been to that has the luxury suites stacked on top of each other like at Rate Field such that it pushes just about everyone not in the lower deck up to the 500 level.

IMO, the Club level area should be bigger. It's only 5 rows at Sox Park, which means a limited number of seats. Yes, they're more expensive and not for taking a family to a game on a budget, but it's still within the price range for some regular fans. Anyone who thinks the Club Level at Rate Field is pretty good should see how much better that level is done at Busch Stadium and PNC Park .....and tickets to those Club Levels weren't as expensive as I've been listed at Rate Field.

My Dad had season tix in the Club level for a few years. Great seats, but you feel cut off from the other fans too much. Personally, I prefer the lower seats at the 500 level. Feels more like a ballgame. But yeah, other stadiums have good club level seating. Sat there in Philly. Great experience even tho it was one of the worst ballgames ever. Sox and Phils extra innings when both teams sucked

2 hours ago, Timmy U said:

My Dad had season tix in the Club level for a few years. Great seats, but you feel cut off from the other fans too much. Personally, I prefer the lower seats at the 500 level. Feels more like a ballgame. But yeah, other stadiums have good club level seating. Sat there in Philly. Great experience even tho it was one of the worst ballgames ever. Sox and Phils extra innings when both teams sucked

I was in the Club level for years. Absolutely loved it. FYI, when the stadium was first built, it wasn't climate controlled. the concourse looked like the other levels only smaller. I haven't been to the club level in Camden Yards, but it is supposed to be, or at least was, identical.

2 hours ago, Timmy U said:

My Dad had season tix in the Club level for a few years. Great seats, but you feel cut off from the other fans too much. Personally, I prefer the lower seats at the 500 level. Feels more like a ballgame. But yeah, other stadiums have good club level seating. Sat there in Philly. Great experience even tho it was one of the worst ballgames ever. Sox and Phils extra innings when both teams sucked

13 minutes ago, Dick Allen said:

I was in the Club level for years. Absolutely loved it. FYI, when the stadium was first built, it wasn't climate controlled. the concourse looked like the other levels only smaller. I haven't been to the club level in Camden Yards, but it is supposed to be, or at least was, identical.

I used to go to the Club Level for years - before and after they enclosed/climate-controlled the concourse. Not every game I attended, but once in a while as a splurge and I thought it was worth it. While the food at the 100 level has always been good, the 300 level was just that much better.

But then, IMO, the quality went downhill. It's not that the food was bad, but the food/experience wasn't really any better than the 100 level to be worth the extra cost and I haven't been there since Covid. I don't know if it's improved since then.

They also didn't have enough tables and chairs such that it was often hard to find a seat in the concourse if the weather was bad. I went to the Club Level in at PNC Park and there were plenty of places to sit inside their larger concourse. Since the heat index was around 100 that evening, it was a good place to go in for a half inning to cool off and watch the game on a big screen TV before returning to my seat. Also, since the club level at PNC (Busch Stadium too) is bigger, I felt like I was still there with a sizable number of fans and I didn't feel as cut off from other fans as the 300 level at Rate Field.

Edited October 21Oct 21 by 77 Hitmen

1 hour ago, Sleepy Harold said:

Interesting update. This will likely delay the start of the project, but at the same time could give it stronger political backing in the end since one of the biggest complaints is the lack of transparency. If that argument is gone, that'll take some of the edge out of the opposition. Here's a little more info about this including that they are planning two public meetings as part of the public comment process.

https://www.trains.com/pro/passenger/intercity/fra-to-conduct-environmental-review-for-planned-amtrak-maintenance-facility/

I will note that unless it is found that Amtrak's proposal doesn't meet all federal standards and federal requirements, it is unlikely that the FRA will reject this proposal in the end. There would have to be some legal basis to do so. This would have been true regardless of which Administration is in charge. It's possible that they'll end up requiring stricter emission controls, noise abatement, ongoing emissions monitoring, etc. But just "people don't like it" or they got X number of angry comments or people shouted loud enough at public hearings isn't a legal basis for getting this cancelled. Sure, if opponents can successfully demonstrate that Amtrak didn't follow proper procedures, provided a faulty environmental assessment, overlooked some other federal requirements, etc., then this could be denied. Probably unlikely, but not impossible. I guess we'll see over the next 2 months.

Edited yesterday at 04:33 PM1 day by 77 Hitmen

15 minutes ago, 77 Hitmen said:

Interesting update. This will likely delay the start of the project, but at the same time could give it stronger political backing in the end since one of the biggest complaints is the lack of transparency. If that argument is gone, that'll take some of the edge out of the opposition. Here's a little more info about this including that they are planning two public meetings as part of the public comment process.

https://www.trains.com/pro/passenger/intercity/fra-to-conduct-environmental-review-for-planned-amtrak-maintenance-facility/

I will note that unless it is found that Amtrak's proposal doesn't meet all federal standards and federal requirements, it is unlikely that the FRA will reject this proposal in the end. There would have to be some legal basis to do so. This would have been true regardless of which Administration is in charge. It's possible that they'll end up requiring stricter emission controls, noise abatement, ongoing emissions monitoring, etc. But just "people don't like it" or they got X number of angry comments or people shouted loud enough at public hearings isn't a legal basis for getting this cancelled. Sure, if opponents can successfully demonstrate that Amtrak didn't follow proper procedures, provided a faulty environmental assessment, overlooked some other federal requirements, etc., then this could be denied. Probably unlikely, but not impossible. I guess we'll see over the next 2 months.

These types of things are exactly why I think the Sox are 6 to 8 years away from a new home. These delays are normal.

1 hour ago, southsider2k5 said:

These types of things are exactly why I think the Sox are 6 to 8 years away from a new home. These delays are normal.

I hope you're wrong.The sooner the stadium gets built the better as far as I'm concerned.

It seems this will be the final nail in the coffin for any local opposition. Hard to drum up any doubts when the local community gets to be a part of the process. Kudos to Ishbia/Amtrak for going this route.

Here's the Trib story on this:

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/10/26/amtrak-maintenance-yard-environmental-assessment/

46 minutes ago, WBWSF said:

I hope you're wrong.The sooner the stadium gets built the better as far as I'm concerned.

The wheels of progress turn slowly as you well know.

43 minutes ago, Mouthsider said:

“…Photos of Josh Nelson’s home show backlash among the Bridgeport residents…”

1 minute ago, Kyyle23 said:

“…Photos of Josh Nelson’s home show backlash among the Bridgeport residents…”

Not people in the city dealing with noise, lights, and emission. Nobody knew that would be part of their lives.

6 minutes ago, bmags said:

Not people in the city dealing with noise, lights, and emission. Nobody knew that would be part of their lives.

man who lives next to train tracks

Nobody told me there would be trains all the time.

52 minutes ago, WBWSF said:

I hope you're wrong.The sooner the stadium gets built the better as far as I'm concerned.

Like I said, it was never going to be tomorrow, and tampering expectations with some understandings of the complexities that are happening in this plan should tell you that even if everything falls in perfect sequence, a lot of these steps have to come to fruition completely, for the next step after it to start. I feel like this is a 5 year minimum plan, with a sweet spot in the 6 to 8 year range. There are a lot of studies, remediations, investigations, and flat out construction that needs to happen before the Sox can even break ground on a new stadium. Keep that in mind.

Again, first thing is all of the red tape needs to be cleared up to get the new Amtrak site even started. Once it is started, then you have the construction time needed before it becomes useable to Amtrak. That probably covers 2027-28. Once they move in, THEN the same process starts on the new site. All of the tear down, removal, remediation, and clean up will need to be done, before a stadium can break ground. Say 29-30 for the permitting, investigation, tear down, remediation, and removals. That brings us to 2030-2032 for construction, and a 2033 open. It might be conservative, but because these steps will not mostly overlap, and need to be done in sequential pieces, it can't be rushed as it would be in an open and clean site with no contingencies. This isn't tearing down a couple of bars and building like New Comiskey was.

51 minutes ago, Mouthsider said:

It seems this will be the final nail in the coffin for any local opposition. Hard to drum up any doubts when the local community gets to be a part of the process. Kudos to Ishbia/Amtrak for going this route.

It also shouldn't be a big surprise. A little bit of power flex, mixed with a little bit of ego stroking. It's how these things get done.

17 minutes ago, bmags said:

Not people in the city dealing with noise, lights, and emission. Nobody knew that would be part of their lives.

Well, it is going to get a lot quieter when the Sox leave.

38 minutes ago, bmags said:

Not people in the city dealing with noise, lights, and emission. Nobody knew that would be part of their lives.

31 minutes ago, Kyyle23 said:

man who lives next to train tracks

Nobody told me there would be trains all the time.

Same thing has happened with people who buy houses right by O'Hare and then complain about the jet noise. When I've looked for houses in the past, I always paid close attention to what is around it and what the areas are zoned with the assumption that the worst case could happen even if those areas were currently vacant.

7 minutes ago, 77 Hitmen said:

Same thing has happened with people who buy houses right by O'Hare and then complain about the jet noise. When I've looked for houses in the past, I always paid close attention to what is around it and what the areas are zoned with the assumption that the worst case could happen even if those areas were currently vacant.

I sat on a planning board for 10 years, and I will never forget in a neighborhood that sits next to a factory and railroad tracks a developer came in and wanted to rezone an area that was heavy industrial coded, to build about a dozen new houses. I remember getting an any inquiry about how much traffic it would add to a quiet street, parking, etc. I told him, look as of right now, someone can come off of the street and build a full pledged factory or railroad facility there. Is that better or worse than some new neighbors. Then he had an epiphany that some new houses wasn't that bad.

4 hours ago, southsider2k5 said:

These types of things are exactly why I think the Sox are 6 to 8 years away from a new home. These delays are normal.

3 hours ago, WBWSF said:

I hope you're wrong.The sooner the stadium gets built the better as far as I'm concerned.

Better late than never. This was always going to take time and Ishbia knows this. He's in his late 40s, might not even control the team until 2034, and is playing the long game here. I'd rather this be done the right way with a transparent environmental review process than have this rammed through.

There will be other hurdles and nothing is certain, but with Ishbia buying up land around the Amtrak site, setting up Northwestern Medicine as a major tenant, and offering to privately-finance the stadium itself, this still has a good chance of happening.

3 minutes ago, 77 Hitmen said:

Better late than never. This was always going to take time and Ishbia knows this. He's in his late 40s, might not even control the team until 2034, and is playing the long game here. I'd rather this be done the right way with a transparent environmental review process than have this rammed through.

There will be other hurdles and nothing is certain, but with Ishbia buying up land around the Amtrak site, setting up Northwestern Medicine as a major tenant, and offering to privately-finance the stadium itself, this still has a good chance of happening.

Honestly the man behind all of this is the only reason I think this is something that is plausible in 6 to 8 years, and not a fantasy. Ishbia is already knocking down the barriers that the Bears have been tripping on for years. Dude know what is he doing.

21 hours ago, Mouthsider said:

It seems this will be the final nail in the coffin for any local opposition. Hard to drum up any doubts when the local community gets to be a part of the process. Kudos to Ishbia/Amtrak for going this route.

Ald. Lee seems to realize this isn't going to stop the project:

“We should not have had to scream, fight and pound on the doors of power just to get the basic transparency about the environmental effects this plan could have on our residents,” Lee said in a statement. “No matter what this environmental study produces, our concerns about noise pollution, economic impact and other issues remain unaddressed.”

Chicago Sun-Times

Amtrak's Bridgeport railyard to get environmental review...

The Federal Railroad Administration said the review should be completed by the end of the year.

1 hour ago, 77 Hitmen said:

Ald. Lee seems to realize this isn't going to stop the project:

“We should not have had to scream, fight and pound on the doors of power just to get the basic transparency about the environmental effects this plan could have on our residents,” Lee said in a statement. “No matter what this environmental study produces, our concerns about noise pollution, economic impact and other issues remain unaddressed.”

Chicago Sun-Times

Amtrak's Bridgeport railyard to get environmental review...

The Federal Railroad Administration said the review should be completed by the end of the year.

Its pretty wild to watch this from afar. Like I said, I have some life experience here serving on a planning board for about a decade, plus having watched the process of a railroad expansion through my town over a little less than 15 years, and the thing that stands out most is the Chicago aldermen are used to having this unlimited power through a local veto, and watching THEM squirm when they DON'T have power is wild. Most of the rest of the country doesn't operate like that.