It is insane that Illinois would fund a billion dollar stadium for the White Sox. The Bears need a new stadium and may make a decision soon but so far no state money is involved. With all the financial problems Chicago has and the long term pension demands they have, it is crazy for the White Sox ownership to expect public money.
@@Gtasplayer The state is practically bankrupt, and the city is on the brink of a death spiral, if it's not in one already. They simply don't have the money, and they've got to deal with the Chicago Bears situation as well.
When the SOX have a good team, SOX fans will fill the park. The early 90's teams with Frank Thomas filled that horrible new park. Before Jerry sabotaged the rebuild with LaRussa, the fans were filling the park. SOX fans will not show-up if Jerry puts a lousy team on the field. Wrigley has an advantage because it's history, it's a safe spot in the city, they made the area family friendly and its a top tourist destination in Chicago. Put the SOX in a new state of the art park, in safe area, and if Jerry ever puts a good team on the field, the SOX fans will fill the park.
MLB should be forced to force the other owners to pitch in a million of their own to reduce the amount of taxpayer money used for stadium construction and renovation
@@robertmiller2104The federal government should just slap on a 25% tax on all professional sports media revenue to go to bolster the Social Security Fund so at least the taxpayers can get their cut of the economic pie. The taxpayers are part owners of these teams because we're financing it all. Yet, we get no cut.
You are wrong about the area around the stadium being unsafe. Bridgeport is a great neighborhood to live in. The problem is that the state of Illinois owns the parking lots surounding the stadium, which is why it can not be developed.
@marblox9300 i'm from louisiana & the superdome in new orleans, la will be 50 years old in 2 years. Renovations can be an amazingly beautiful thing & the superdome survived hurricane katrina in 2005 with it's roof being partially ripped off by heavy winds & some holes coming thru the roof back then. Now look at it, 48 going on 49 years old & still going strong & looking good. And fedex field in landover, md is the best example of what can happen when you don't keep up on stadium renovations.
@marblox9300 yeah, it's nice. Especially riding up to it, it looks like a big piece of gold from the outside. Those newer domed stadiums look nice too: jerry's world/at&t stadium in arlington, tx, the bird's nest 🪹/mercedes-benz stadium in atlanta, ga, the giant roomba i robot vaccum/allegiant stadium in las vegas, the desert spaceship/state farm stadium in glendale, az, the fancy new one with the giant oculus type of jumbotron/sofi stadium in englewood, ca, etc
If I was Pritzker, I’d tell both the bears and Sox that they would have to share a cookie cutter (a la Veterans Stadium) or no deal. Watch how fast they turn that down.
I love your videos, particularly your stadium videos. So don't take this as anything but constructive. I really wish you would stop calling the area around Guaranteed Rate a bad area. Bridgeport/Armour Square, where the stadium is, is one of the fastest gentrifying neighborhoods in the city, by a combination of hipsters and Asians moving south from Chinatown. So when you say that, it just sounds like you don't know what you're talking about to anyone who knows Chicago. Other than that though, keep up the good work, and keep covering this story!
If he were to sell the team before a stadium is built, it is highly likely groups from Nashville, Charlotte, Montreal, Salt Lake, and Oakland would be tripping over themselves to buy the team. The only reason the White Sox didn't move to Milwaukee in 1969 was because the AL owners stopped it. And they didn't end up in Tampa in 1990 because they literally stopped the clock in a legislative session.
@@kjorlaug1 Yes, I'm aware. There is no need for any team to relocate, especially with MLB wanting to expand. Chicago can support 2 teams, it has for over a century. MLB owners are all capable of building themselves beautiful stadiums without a cent of public money. Anything else about location, the economy, etc is bs. Reinsdorf is one of sports all-time BSers. Not to mention we have decades of research and empirical evidence proving publicly funded stadiums that benefit private enterprises and individuals do not benefit the public. It does not "create jobs" or "boost the local economy".
@@The14Hill you misunderstand, I completely agree with you. But Reinsdorf knows that someone, whether it be Illinois or another state, will pay for (at least partially) a new stadium to get MLB
As a downstate Sox fan I oppose using public funds for stadiums; however, to clarify, new taxes are not being proposed but rather extending a 2% hotel tax that was approved for the current stadium which still has yet to be paid off. They are wanting the state to sell bonds which would be paid for by the extended tax. As I understand it, the money would be used for the some of the adjacent development not just the stadium and the city will still need to pay for extensive infrastructure upgrades to the area. In all, a bad investment in public money even though it would be paid for by visitors. If the idea of this development is so good and lucrative, then Reinsdorf should find private investors and the hotel tax should be allowed to sunset.
I think the real issue is what to do with Guaranteed Rate. Turning it into a soccer field would be a weird renovation and they don't need all of those parking lots. That property needs a real plan
This is crazy, the Bears want out when Soldiers Field is still buried in debt, expecting the taxpayers to build them a new stadium and now the White Sox are piling it on wanting their own new taxpayer funded facility. When will the taxpayers revolt? What incredible steel balls these owners have.
Your lack of understanding of both both Illinois politics - and this is 100% about politics and business and not basebal - l is evident. First, the area around White Sox park is not as you described. It is an Asian community with shades of Bridgeport Irish. The nearby projects are gone forever. The proposed area is nowhere near the safe area you claim. Go study Hey Jackass for reference. The state of Illinois and Chicago are also in the midst of a migrant crisis which is the dominant financial issue here. The mere fact that Reindorf is asking for 1 Billion at this time is nothing more than unbridled hubris. It is not a smart move. He appears to be a greedy billionaire that he likely is asking for insane amounts when the city has migrants sleeping in police stations and at the airport.. The proposed retail and entertainment area around the stadium along with 1,000 affordable housing units makes this a pipe dream at best. When Reinsdorf made his threat in the 80s the City of Tampa built a stadium hoping he would relocate. He of course was using them as a strong arm tactic. Today that stadium is among the worst and least attended arena and is being replaced. His implied threat that his son would sell the team to interests in Nashville is a joke. The argument boils down to I get my way or I move from the third largest market to the 37th largest market in the nation. To what end?? This is plain and simple a deal to get Reindorf into prime real estate - his expertise - by using the White Sox as bait. The fact that the Sox are the second favorite team in Chicago comes down to marketing and success on the field. If Reinsdorf was any good at these business functions then his team would be the hands down favorites. After all the Cubs have had 100 years of futility , a once broken down Wrigley Field ayet overhauled the park with THEIR OWN MONEY, and you still can't win the number one spot in the hearts of Chicagoans. Reinsdorf take your team and please move. Any number of teams would prefer to be located in the second largest market in the US. MOVE.
Tax payers should not have to pony up the cash for some billionaire's dream park. Let the White Sox leave! The people should not cave to the desires of whining billionaires! The Cubs AAA team can play on the south side. The city gave the Sox a stadium in 1991, unfortunately just one year before the new fashion in baseball stadiums was set with Camden Yards, so it was out-of-date a year after it opened. That says it all for White Sox future in Chicago. At least they did get one trophy there though.
The new stadium renders do look good but I really want Soldier Field to be renovated. I know I’m in the minority but I actually think it’s a great stadium
Sell the team Jerry. Most White Sox simply don't like you for a number of reasons. There must be some other billionaire, you can sell the team to, who will keep the team in Chicago. Your act is starting to wear thin. This isn't 1990 any longer.
There are two L lines and the METRA Rock Island Line (which is getting new trains). All Reinsdorf has to do is develop the parking lots. Then he has his stadium district. And Reinsdorf has a history of doing this.
Being from chicago and a white sox fan that area is not the same it was 20 years ago with the projects across the street now days you 250,000 dollar condos a block away
They only gave the illusion that they were moments away from moving to Florida. Reinsdorf later stated he never would've moved. It was a scare tactic, and it worked. The current stadium isn't the problem. Reinsdorf is the problem. He's always been the problem. Nashville would be dumb as hell to build a stadium and then welcome an owner that will never spend the money needed to field an actual contender.
I think what happens for everybody involved is this scenario. Rays stay in Tampa for new stadium deal Athletics move to Las Vegas Chicago White Sox move to Charlotte and change their team name (maybe something like Stingers or Yellow Jackets) The two expansion teams will be in Salt Lake City and Nashville (Salt Lake City could be named the Pioneers, Nashville being the Stars)
@robertmasina7388 there is nothing wrong with the neighborhood. They have been at that corner for over 100 years. Not even a Sox fan and been going there since the early 80s. My Grandmother lived on 35th and Emerald forever. The Sox problem is simple, put a team on the field. In 2006, year after the WS.....they drew 2.95 million. 18 years later the area is a dump and they can't draw? This is a big lie that is manufacturing consent to spend more tax payer money to a 2 team owning billionaire. They need to do what they did with the United Center, get a loan and build it yourself, or just develop the endless parking lots outside of the current ballpark. Sick of them crying poor. Their biggest contract ever is a joke. I would argue they generate just as much as the Cubs financially from attendance because they get all the parking revenue and the Cubs don't. Put a team on the field, generate a lucrative TV contract in the 3rd largest city in the US, and develop around the ballpark. In the 80s Wrigley and the surrounding area was a dump. It was developed. Do the same to the only neighborhood you have ever called home.
I love the Depressed Ginger. And I really hate to criticize him but yeah, he's totally wrong on this. That neighborhood is very expensive and one of the fastest gentrifying neighborhoods in Chicago. I urge him to visit and head a little bit west to Halsted and check out places like Antique Taco, Maria's, and Bernice's, as well as the Bridgeport Art Center.
The current ballpark is 33 years old, that’s a newborn compared to some ballparks that are over 100 years old. And stop government funding for these millionaire players and billionaire owners, the money is greatly needed elsewhere. The Illinois taxpayers paid for a huge chunk of this so called “old” ballpark and we didn’t even get a free freaking hotdog. It’s like a shell game with these owners, threaten to move your team and maybe you won’t see that this is one of the worst teams to ever walk onto the field. Concentrate on a winning team and the fans will come back.
Jerry is saying if he sells the team they will move because not enough revenue so it makes sense to build a new stadium in a better place with more revenue and the team stays in Chicago.
Then, you are going to fund a new stadium for the Sox every 30 years for these cry babies. Move the Sox to any location that will take them. I recommend Tin Cup Indinana. New name Tin Cup Vagabonds.
Do you believe everything Jerry says? Jerry thinks he is the smartest guy in the room. Sell the team to someone who will keep them in Chicago. Jerry isn't going to live forever. The next time the White Sox will be competitive, he'll be dirt napping.
White sox are not more poular than the cubs. If the choice is the bears new downtown stadium over the white sox new downtown stadium, i say go with the bears & let the white sox move to nashville, tn. White sox to nashville, athletics to las vegas. Pnc park in pittsburgh, pa is a classic example of a newer & beautiful stadium with amazing downtown views, but horrible management & bad team play on the field. #IJS
@@mrg8581 it's not. Every city has to contribute..failure to do so..another city will and your team could leave. Nobody will cry for you. But I don't listen to anti sports ppl
@@sirchi8731 Then let them leave. If city leaders stood up to these billionaire owners, it would be lot better in the long run. Most working class families can't afford to attend games. Let stadiums put a 15 or 20 percent ticket surcharge to help pay for 🏟.
White Sox move to Anaheim , Angels to Oakland the A’s to Las Vegas , Nashville and Salt Lake City get new franchises and the game will still suck because Manfred sucks
Did anybody tell you you talk too much you don't know what you're talking about let the negotiating people do what they got to do don't add nothing to it like your generation try to do just stick to the facts okay they ask for a billion let's see what happens okay don't say what they might need a half a billion we don't know that you don't know that the man asks for a billion okay do you know can you read that what grade of school did you go through
