Report: Mayor Johnson doesn’t rule out public funding for proposed $1B White Sox ballpark in South Loop
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CHICAGO — A day after White Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf and team executives reportedly met with Illinois state legislators to pitch their plan for a new ballpark in the South Loop, Mayor Brandon Johnson appeared to be more receptive to the plan than Gov. JB Pritzker and some state lawmakers.
The Sun-Times reports that after Wednesday’s City Council meeting, Mayor Johnson didn’t reject providing a public subsidy to build a roughly $1 billion ballpark, provided the White Sox and developer Related Midwest “put some skin in the game,” the report says.
“I’m grateful that both organizations are committed to having these conversations,” Johnson said, according to the report.
“… As far as public dollars, we haven’t gotten into any of those specifics just yet. But I will say that we’re going to explore all options. But we have to make sure that we’re doing right by the people of Chicago. … Everything is on the table here. But again, I want to make sure there is a real commitment to public use and public benefit.”
Last week Friday, Crain’s Chicago Business reported that Reinsdorf is seeking roughly $1 billion in public money to build a new White Sox stadium in “The 78,” a large parcel of undeveloped land in the South Loop. Related Midwest owns the property.
Last month, the Sun-Times first reported the White Sox were in “serious” negotiations with Related Midwest to build a new ballpark in “The 78,” so named because of its potential to become Chicago’s 78th neighborhood.
Measuring 62 acres and located at Roosevelt Road and Clark Street, just south of downtown, “The 78” would be a prime location for the White Sox to relocate to from the Bridgeport neighborhood on the city’s South Side.
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The White Sox have called Bridgeport home for over a century and have played at Guaranteed Rate Field since 1991 after it was built to replace old Comiskey Park. The team’s lease at Guaranteed Rate Field expires after the 2029 season.
Earlier this month, WGN News obtained first-time renderings of the proposed new ballpark on “The 78.” According to the renderings, if the city was to move forward with the proposal by the White Sox and Related Midwest for the new ballpark, the project’s impact would offer $9 billion in economic investment in Chicago, with $4 billion-plus in stabilized annual economic impact and $200 million in annual stabilized tax revenue.
The project also proposes the creation of 10,000-plus construction jobs to build the new ballpark and 22,000-plus permanent jobs in total after construction is finished.
But after Reinsdorf said he’s seeking roughly $1 billion in public funding for the plan, current and former state legislators have pushed back with skepticism.
Earlier this week, former Illinois Governor Pat Quinn — who’s also a big White Sox fan — said the city and state should be very careful about public subsidies.
“The whole proposal sounds good if you say it fast. The problem is, they’ve got to pay for it,” Quinn said. “You want to make sure that the investors actually put their own money in.
“If they want to build something, hopefully it’s a good thing that’s good for housing, good for the fans, good for everybody in Chicago.”
Pritzker, meanwhile, has praised conceptual renderings of the plan but has also expressed concern about using public funding to build the ballpark.
Illinois State Rep. Kelly Cassidy expressed dismay in a phone interview with WGN News this week.
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“Read the room, Jerry, this is just not the time,” Cassidy said. “A billionaire with plenty of means to make more money for himself is asking us to buy him another stadium before we’ve even paid for the last one we built for him.”
Not to mention, Bridgeport residents and business owners have expressed their concern over what could happen to the neighborhood if the White Sox leave after more than 100 years there.
The latest Sun-Times report also notes that $50 million in outstanding Illinois Sports Facilities Authority bonds were used to bankroll renovations to Guaranteed Rate Field, so that ballpark is still not completely paid for.
Still, according to the report, Mayor Johnson did not rule out using a public subsidy to fund a new ballpark on “The 78” after Wednesday’s City Council meeting. But he also said “there’s no guarantee that they’ll get it from the city,” according to the report.
“What I’ve said repeatedly is that we need to make sure that our investments have real public benefit and that there has to be a commitment to public use,” Johnson said in the report. “Those conversations are being had, and there are some promising developments that eventually we’ll be able to talk about out loud.”
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