Developer Related Midwest released renderings of a potential new baseball stadium for the Chicago White Sox on a massive but mostly dormant South Loop megadevelopment known as The 78.
The renderings depict an open-air stadium concept with views of downtown Chicago, sandwiched between the river and skyscrapers. The latest development in the White Sox stadium saga comes about three weeks after news broke that the team is considering building a new stadium at the site.
The full build-out of The 78, named for its potential to become the city's 78th neighborhood, would create a $9B economic investment in the city and over $4B in stabilized annual economic impact, according to documents acquired by WGN News. The proposal also projects the development would create more than 10,000 construction jobs and over 22,000 permanent jobs.
Photos courtesy of Related Midwest
Sources with knowledge of the talks told the Chicago Sun-Times in mid-January that the negotiations for the ballpark are “serious.” Related Midwest owns the site of the potential stadium at Roosevelt Road and Clark Street.
The 78 site consists of 62 acres stretching south to 16th Street. In February 2020, the University of Illinois System’s Discovery Partners Institute signed a letter of intent to build a 500K SF research hub on land Related Midwest donated. The institute is expected to take 4 acres at the southern part of the site, according to the Sun-Times. Design plans were approved last year.
The site is close to the CTA’s Roosevelt station, which serves the Red, Green and Orange lines.
Chicago White Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf made it known in August he is considering relocating the team from its Bridgeport home when its lease is up in six years. At the time, sources close to Reinsdorf said he was considering options including building a new stadium in the city or suburbs or developing the area around the existing ballpark to include more bars and restaurants, creating a neighborhood similar to ones around other urban stadiums.
A move to Nashville, a city that often comes up in conversations about Major League Baseball expansion, is also on the table.
White Sox Vice President of Sales and Service Jim Willits told Bisnow in August that it is natural to look at what is available to the organization.
“That might mean we’re still at Guaranteed Rate Field,” Willits said. “It doesn’t mean we’re going to go. We’re talking about billions of dollars to build a ballpark. That money doesn’t fall out of the sky.”
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