Bridgeport and South Loop residents pushed back hard Tuesday against a new White Sox stadium plan that would put the team in the South Loop.
The proposal came from Canal Edge, a company tied to White Sox minority owner Justin Ishbia, and includes renderings for a stadium in an area the company calls “The Railyards.” The concept also calls for mixed-use development, with retail and “potential healthcare offerings by Northwestern Medicine along the riverfront.”
The site sits between Roosevelt Road and 18th Street along the South Branch of the Chicago River, with Canal Street forming the western edge. It is also across the river from The 78, the planned megadevelopment where construction is already underway for a stadium for the Chicago Fire FC.
Ishbia is a shareholder of Canal Edge, which has the riverside property under contract. Back in March, CBS News Chicago reported that Shore Capital, the private equity firm of Sox owner-in-waiting Justin Ishbia, was in the process of buying a 47-acre Amtrak railyard.
For Ald. Nicole Lee (11th), the idea landed as a direct insult to Bridgeport.
She said the community has long been connected to the ballpark, even though the official neighborhood boundaries stop at the Norfolk Southern railroad tracks just west of Rate Field.
“Our residents work at the ballpark. Working-class residents have spent their hard-earned money on season tickets, merchandise concessions, and year after year in support of the team,” Lee said, “and I've got to tell you, our community feels pretty disrespected right now on all fronts.”
The latest pitch is not the first time the White Sox have floated a new home. In 2024, the team and owner Jerry Reinsdorf proposed a stadium site right in The 78 development itself, with renderings showing a ballpark along the river surrounded by new high-rise buildings.
Rate Field has been home since 1991, when it opened as new Comiskey Park before later taking on the names U.S. Cellular Field and Guaranteed Rate Field. It stands across 35th Street from old Comiskey Park, where the White Sox played from 1910 to 1990.
That current ballpark was financed by the State of Illinois after Reinsdorf threatened to move the team to the Tampa Bay Area in Florida in 1988. The state-run Illinois Sports Facilities Authority owns Guaranteed Rate Field.
The White Sox’s lease at Rate Field expires in 2029.
In Other News...
Which White Sox Prospects Are Closest To Helping In 2027
After an unprecedented wave of MLB debuts in 2026, the White Sox are already looking at who might be next from the farm when 2027 arrives. A handful of prospects stand out as the most likely candidates to push for Chicago soon, and the group gives the organization a little bit of everything: a bat that is viewed as MLB-ready, a top pick still working back from injury, a power arm with loud velocity, and a reliever who has started to turn a corner.
Caleb Bonemer looks closest to being able to help right away, while Roch Cholowsky, the 2026 No. 1 overall pick, remains a major name to track as he recovers. Joey Volchko has the kind of fastball that can move a pitcher up quickly if everything else keeps coming with it, and Mathias LaCombe has boosted his stock with recent improvement out of the bullpen. For a White Sox club still building its next competitive core, those are the kinds of prospects worth watching now, even if the full payoff is still ahead. [Read more 🡒]
Tristan Peters Became A White Sox Surprise Nobody Saw Coming
Tristan Peters was supposed to be organizational depth when the White Sox picked him up from the Rays, a name headed for Triple-A and little else. Instead, the 26-year-old rookie outfielder forced his way into the major league picture and turned himself into one of the teams most useful players, with steady defense and an offense that has taken a clear step forward.
What makes Peters such an unexpected development is not just that he won a roster spot, but how much value he has added once he got there. His FanGraphs WAR now places him among the top position players with at least 400 plate appearances this season, a remarkable climb for a player who opened the year with far different expectations. For a White Sox club looking for any kind of steady building block, Peters has become one of the seasons most intriguing answers. [Read more 🡒]
Hagen Smith Is Giving The White Sox A Very Good Problem
Hagen Smith has given the White Sox something they did not have to wonder about when they drafted him so high in 2024: impact. After moving through the minors and arriving in the majors as a reliever in 2026, he has looked overpowering in the bullpen, turning in a 0.56 ERA with 23 strikeouts in 16 innings and giving Chicago a late-inning arm with real bite.
The catch, of course, is that the White Sox still see Smith as a starter in the long run, and that is where the real decision begins. Spring training is supposed to send him back toward a rotation role, but his control and his ability to stay effective will shape whether he ends up building on this bullpen success or settles into a different kind of future on the South Side. [Read more 🡒]