White Sox Reveal Renderings of Proposed Stadium to Replace Guaranteed Rate Field

The Chicago White Sox have reportedly proposed a new stadium in the South Loop's "The 78" area and released renderings of the plan on Wednesday and Thursday.

The White Sox have called Guaranteed Rate Field—formerly known as both Comiskey Park and U.S. Cellular Field—home since 1991.

The renderings were released by real estate development firm Related Midwest, which according to Adam Harrington and Marshall Harris of CBS Chicago is "the developer behind 'The 78'—a long-undeveloped 62-acre parcel of land near Roosevelt Road and Clark Street. The land has been dubbed 'The 78' for its potential to become the city's 78th official community area."

The White Sox are reportedly in talks with Related Midwest regarding the possibility of building a new stadium on that plot of land.

"The development would be a catalyst for the creation of Chicago's next great neighborhood, create tens of thousands of permanent and construction jobs and bring a state-of-the-art White Sox ballpark to the South Loop riverfront," Related Midwest said in a statement.

While a positive economic impact is often cited by developers and professional sports teams in an effort to obtain public funding for such projects, many economists and city planners disagree with the argument, noting that it's often just a way for billionaire owners to improve their own profit margins.

When cities aren't willing to foot a major portion of the bill, however, they risk losing their team altogether. In 2016, San Diego citizens overwhelmingly voted against raising the city's hotel room tax rate by four percent to help fund a downtown stadium for the Chargers.

The result was Dean Spanos moving the team to Los Angeles in 2017.

Chicago and Illinois are familiar with such showdowns—before Guaranteed Rate Field's construction was financed by the state, White Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf threatened to move the team to Florida's St. Petersburg.

There have been rumors that Reinsdorf would consider moving the team again after the team's lease at Guaranteed Rate Field expires in 2028, though he denied them in August.

"I've been reading about that I've been threatening to move the team," he told reporters. "I mean, that article didn't come from me. We got to decide what's the future going to be and we'll get to it. But I've never threatened to move out. We haven't even begun to have discussions with the Sports Authority, which you will have to do soon."