Getty Image / Patrick Gorski
Guaranteed Rate Field, home of the Chicago White Sox on the South Side of Chicago, has been open since 1991. At this point, it’s in need of a serious upgrade or a total replacement.
Controversial team owner Jerry Reinsdorf does not seem like the person who is going to completely fund a new ballpark himself. So, who is going to pay for it?
Naturally, Reinsdorf and the White Sox would like the taxpayers to help foot the bill. But, projects like that have only got more and more controversial as time has gone on.
And, Illinois Governor JB Pritzker (D) is not a proponent of the idea. He made that clear on Monday.
Pritzker pushing back on Sox Stadium:
“The idea of taking taxpayers dollars and subsidizing the building of a stadium … does not seem like [it] should have higher priority,” he said. “These are private businesses.”
pic.twitter.com/EnZCuTadNH— Jake Sheridan (@JakeSheridan_) February 26, 2024
I think there’s still a lot of work to be done by the White Sox as well as with members of the General Assembly. But, I will say that I think I’ve been really clear about the fact that the taxpayers dollars are precious. And, the idea of taking taxpayer dollars and subsidizing the building of a stadium, as opposed to, for example, subsidizing the building of a birthing center, just to give an example, does not seem like the stadium ought to have higher priority. Having said that, many of us are sports fans, we all want to see the team succeed. But, these are private businesses. And we’ve seen other teams be able to support their own stadiums privately. That would be ideal here. And I think that’s something that I would encourage, I think the city of Chicago is engaged, as well with them. But I wouldn’t put any number forward. I started out really reluctant. And, unless a case is made that the long-term in the investment yields a long term return for the taxpayers, that we can justify in some way, I haven’t seen that yet. And to be clear, nobody has presented directly to me, my staff has seen a presentation. So I just want you to know that I started out a bit reluctant. Having said that, you know, I’m a fan of all of our teams and I want them to succeed, although I’m a Cubs fan first and foremost. Sorry to all the White Sox fans
That seems less than encouraging if you’re someone that wants a new stadium on the Southside.
The Chicago Bears are also looking to build a new stadium in the area and looking for public funding for it. It seems a lot more likely that the Bears will get funding for a stadium than the White Sox getting funding. Of course, neither of them could get any public money. Then, they’d actually have to spend their own money on a stadium. Oh no, the horror.