Building another new stadium is what will keep the Sox in Chicago.
That is according to long-time local baseball reporter Bruce Levine. Jerry is hoping to construct a new park in the South Loop on a plot of land known as the 78.
He wants the Illinois taxpayers to foot at least $1.7 billion of the estimated $1.9 billion cost. Jerry is reportedly willing to chip in $200 million of his own money, barely a fraction of the cost. He is getting resistance from lawmakers as the climate has changed since the late 1980s.
Publicly funded stadiums are becoming less popular and rarely deliver on the economic impact promised. The governor is also not a diehard Sox fan. Plus, Illinois and Chicago have plenty of funding issues, such as properly funding public education.
Also, more and more stadiums are being built through private money, or at the very least, with the team chipping in at least half of the costs.
The reason Reinsdorf or any potential new owner wants a new ballpark is the lease at Guaranteed Rate Field expires in 2029. While the park itself is still in great shape, it is outdated by today's standards.
The Sox still have to fight the stereotype that the Rate is located in an unsafe neighborhood. Plus, the area around it has all the charm of a parking lot which is because the park is surrounded by them.
You have to go to 33rd Street to find something that resembles what the Chicago Cubs have at Wrigley Field.
In today's baseball economics where the regional sports network money is trying up, owning large swaths of land around the ballpark is the new trend for sports teams to rake in the cash.
Fans might love their tailgating, but paying the team's parking lot prices does not bring in nearly the revenue as posh neighborhoods with condos, luxury apartments, and restaurants. Why do you think Jerry Reinsdorf's other team, the Chicago Bulls, is teaming up with the Chicago Blackhawks to develop the parking lots around the United Center?