Sources familiar with the talks, all of whom asked to remain anonymous, described the negotiations for a baseball-only stadium as “serious.”
The Illinois Sports Facilities Authority, which owns and financed Guaranteed Rate Field, has not yet been involved in the discussions, according to the authority’s CEO Frank Bilecki. At some point, the stadium authority would need to get involved in determining the future of Guaranteed Rate Field and possibly in building a new ballpark, if it is publicly funded.
The potential site at Roosevelt Road and Clark Street is owned by Related Midwest. Company president Curt Bailey refused to comment on the talks. So did Sox spokesperson Scott Reifert and Jason Lee, a senior adviser to Mayor Brandon Johnson.
Johnson and Sox Chairman Jerry Reinsdorf issued a joint statement in response to questions from the Sun-Times. It made no mention of the possibility of moving the Sox from their current home at Guaranteed Rate Field to the South Loop tract, which acquired its nickname for its potential to become Chicago’s 78th neighborhood,
“We met to discuss the historic partnership between the team and Chicago and the team’s ideas for remaining competitive in Chicago in perpetuity,” the joint statement said.
Reinsdorf, 87, acknowledged last summer he was exploring the possibility of leaving Guaranteed Rate Field when the team’s lease expires after the 2029 season.
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One-of-a-kind site in prime location
At 62 acres stretching south to 16th Street, “the 78” is one of Chicago’s largest undeveloped parcels — and certainly the most strategically located. But it has somehow eluded development for decades.
Once owned by convicted political power player Tony Rezko, it was one of several sites in the running for a Chicago casino now planned for River West.
Rezko’s partner in the the South Loop land deal was Nadhmi Auchi, an Iraqi billionaire living in London who was convicted of accepting illegal commissions in an oil deal in France. Auchi was fined and sentenced to probation.
As of 2019, Auchi still owned the site after taking on Related Midwest as a new partner. It’s unclear if Auchi still owns a piece of the site.
