Related, Chicago White Sox in Talks for Stadium at The 78

The 78, a $7B mixed-use project planned by Related Midwest for 62 acres of former railroad property along the South Branch of the Chicago River, may include as its centerpiece a new stadium for the Chicago White Sox.

The owner of the American League MLB franchise is engaged in what have been described as serious negotiations to build a new stadium in the mega-development, according to a report in the Chicago Sun-Times.

The current home of the White Sox, Guaranteed Rate Field, is about two miles up the road from the development site for The 78.

The stadium opened in 1991, when it was called Comiskey Park and replaced the infamous venue of the same name, where eight members of the 1919 White Sox agreed to fix the World Series for some Chicago gangsters. Unlike modern sports palaces, Comiskey has no development surrounding it, just parking lots.

White Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf’s lease with the Illinois Sports Facility Authority for Guaranteed Rate Field, located at 35 Street and Shields Avenue in the Bridgeport neighborhood, expires in 2029. Reinsdorf also owns the Chicago Bulls NBA franchise, which is part-owner of the United Center arena.

Without mentioning Related Midwest’s development site, Mayor Brandon Johnson and Reinsdorf recently issued a joint statement confirming that discussions have begun about a future home for the While Sox.

“Mayor Brandon Johnson and White Sox chairman Jerry Reinsdorf met to discuss the historic partnership between the team and Chicago and the team’s ideas for remaining competitive in Chicago in perpetuity,” the statement said.

Renderings of a new White Sox stadium at The 78 were published last week in Urbanize Chicago. The renderings show the proposed stadium structure anchoring the new high-rise district. With home plate at the southwest corner, the stadium wraps around the field primarily on the west and south sides, with a large video screen overlooking a large plaza to the north.

The 78 has been in the planning stages since before the pandemic on a site along the river between the South Loop and Chinatown. As originally planned, the project would include up to 13M SF of new commercial real estate, including up to 10,000 residential units of which 20% would be reserved as affordable.

The project is called The 78 because the mega-development would become the Windy City’s 78th neighborhood. At the end of 2018, the Chicago City Council approved zoning that would allow the developer to build a apartment towers as well as low-rise buildings.

An eight-story domed University of Illinois research facility called Discovery Partners Institute also is planned on the site, with groundbreaking for the facility scheduled for later this year.

Efforts to develop Chicago’s first casino as part of The 78 fell through when the city chose Bally’s proposal to develop the former site of the Chicago Tribune.