Location: Chicago, Illinois
The prospect of the White Sox building a new stadium in the proposed “The 78” neighborhood of Chicago first popped up in 2024, but it was a dream at that point as much as anything else. Plenty of renderings. No solid plan.
Now the ball is moving in the right direction, courtesy of future White Sox owner (it’s complicated) Justin Ishbia.
As reported by Jon Greenberg of The Athletic on Saturday, Canal Edge, a development company controlled by Ishbia, announced plans for a new mixed-use development in the South Loop with a new White Sox stadium as its centerpiece. The proposed site is next to the Chicago River and is meant to be “integrated into the surrounding neighborhood fabric, with programmable open space, retail, and dining designed to activate the area 365 days a year.”
Anything would be an upgrade over Rate Field. It opened in 1991, the year before Oriole Park at Camden Yards kicked off a wave of retro stadiums that felt like destinations as much as ballparks. The White Sox missed the boat.
If the White Sox do get a stadium at Ishbia’s proposed site, there would be at least one major advantage beyond the newness of it all. The South Loop neighborhood is closer to the heart of Chicago, potentially making the new home of the White Sox a hot spot with greater access to more people.
The interesting thing is that the new site would move the White Sox closer to Wrigley Field. That potentially sets up a sort of turf war between the White Sox and Cubs for fans, which would heighten an already intense local rivalry.