Latest news with #Ganis
Chicago Tribune
5 days ago
- Business
- Chicago Tribune
Could the White Sox build a new stadium next to the Fire at The 78? Don't count it out.
There may be a few more balls in the air at The 78 than just the Chicago Fire's proposed $650 million soccer stadium. In the wake of Tuesday's announcement that the Fire's privately financed, 22,000-seat stadium could open for play before the 2028 MLS season, the White Sox said they are still considering building their proposed new ballpark at the South Loop site as well, potentially creating a new pro sports nexus in Chicago. At least one industry analyst said shoehorning two new stadiums in the mostly vacant 62-acre site is not only viable, but potentially a boon for both teams and the city, as well as Related Midwest's long-dormant megadevelopment. 'It could work,' said Marc Ganis, a Chicago-based sports marketing consultant. 'They would have to work out the use of the infrastructure and the parking and scheduling and things of that nature. I think it'd be great for the city.' The Fire plan to build the open-air soccer stadium at the north end of the former rail yard along the Chicago River at Roosevelt Road. The stadium, designed by architectural firm Gensler, would feature a natural grass pitch, an array of seating — including club options and luxury suites — and an intimate setting for Fire fans to cheer on the team. As part of the proposed development, the Fire is buying 9 acres of land at The 78, the team and developer confirmed. That leaves plenty of room for the White Sox to build an adjacent ballpark, Ganis said. Last year, the White Sox proposed a new publicly funded ballpark at The 78, but Springfield lawmakers balked at the idea of contributing a reported $1 billion to build it. The team, though, has not given up on moving in, according to a statement issued Tuesday. 'Related Midwest first approached the White Sox about building a new ballpark on a piece of property they were developing, and we continue to consider the site as an option,' the White Sox said. 'We believe in Related Midwest's vision for The 78 and remain confident the riverfront location could serve as a home to both teams. We continue to have conversations with Related Midwest about the site's possibilities and opportunities.' The White Sox declined to comment further as to their plans to pursue a ballpark at The 78, as did Related Midwest. While the city needs to sign off on the proposed Fire stadium, the project will not require public funding, team owner Joe Mansueto told the Tribune. The Fire currently play at Soldier Field on a three-year lease extension. Last season, the Fire averaged 21,327 fans per game at Soldier Field, leaving the 61,500-seat stadium two-thirds empty for most matches. Ganis said the city should jump at the opportunity for a downsized, privately financed soccer stadium to draw fans and businesses to a South Loop neighborhood ripe for growth. 'They should accept this deal as quickly as they can and get it going and help them procedurally as much as they can,' Ganis said. Building adjacent stadiums is gaining traction in several markets, including Arlington, Texas, where the Dallas Cowboys play at AT&T Stadium and the Texas Rangers are a line drive away at Globe Life Field. In the Los Angeles area, SoFi Stadium, where both the Rams and Chargers play football, is next door to the Intuit Dome, the new basketball home of the Clippers. Another major market is already turning soccer and baseball teams into neighbors. In 2027, New York City FC will open that city's first soccer-specific stadium in Queens, near Citi Field, where the Mets play baseball. Whether the White Sox will be able to get the financial and political support to move into The 78, envisioned by Related Midwest as a mixed-used megadevelopment that will become Chicago's 78th neighborhood, remains to be seen. In 1988, Jerry Reinsdorf, chairman of the White Sox, pushed through legislation to fund a new baseball stadium after threatening to move the team to Florida. Built in 1991, the stadium, which is now called Rate Field, was primarily funded through the issuance of $150 million in hotel tax-supported bonds by the Illinois Sports Facilities Authority. The White Sox lease at Rate Field runs through 2029 and the sports facilities authority still owes $50 million on the ballpark. The primary incentive for the White Sox to move 3 miles north from Bridgeport to the South Loop is the opportunity to build a Wrigleyville-like neighborhood around the stadium, which has been a fan magnet for the Cubs through winning and losing seasons alike, Ganis said. 'Even when the Cubs stink on the field, they still draw' about 3 million people in the stands most seasons, Ganis said. 'That is something the White Sox are sorely missing, and it's because of the location of their stadium and how walled off it is from where people live, work and play.' The White Sox could use some home-field advantage. The team is coming off the most losses in a season in major league history, and is not faring much better this year, with the worst record in the American League through 60 games. Meanwhile, the Chicago Sports Network, the team's new TV home, remains blacked out to 1 million Comcast subscribers in the city and suburbs during an ongoing carriage dispute. Getting legislators in Springfield to help finance the new White Sox ballpark, however, may still be an issue, Ganis said. Larger markets tend to rely less on public financing for sports stadiums than smaller markets, he said. That may leave the White Sox facing a choice whether to stay in Chicago or leave for greener pastures in another city after the Rate Field lease is up. 'The question is going to come up whether the White Sox should be the No. 2 team in the third largest market, or the No. 1 team in a smaller market where the government is willing to step up and pay for a whole new stadium for them,' Ganis said. Mayor Brandon Johnson on Tuesday sought to parlay the buzz over the Fire's announcement to build its new stadium at the The 78 site in the South Loop into a pitch for other sports teams to stay in the city. The Bears are likely leaving the city for Arlington Heights and a new stadium there. At his City Hall news conference, the mayor applauded Fire owner Mansueto for putting up his own money to keep the Major League Soccer franchise in the city while throwing down the gauntlet to other sports team owners. 'There's no reason to leave Chicago if you're a sports team. There isn't,' Johnson said. 'There's just too much soul in this city to leave it now.'
Chicago Tribune
19-04-2025
- Business
- Chicago Tribune
With Bulls and Hawks done, White Sox struggling, CHSN may need to think outside the Comcast cable box
Six months after the Chicago Sports Network launched, the inaugural Bulls and Blackhawks campaigns are over, the White Sox are 19 games into a new season and the channel remains blacked out for one million Chicago-area Comcast subscribers. While there are other ways to watch the nascent network, including competing pay-TV providers, streaming services and over-the-air TV, at least one sports industry expert believes CHSN and the White Sox may need to think outside the cable box this summer to stay relevant. 'They may need to put some games on WGN or some other over-the-air channels,' said Marc Ganis, a Chicago-based sports marketing consultant. 'And then you sell commercial time and see if maybe the White Sox can get some traction in the marketplace based on simply being on free TV.' CHSN is broadcast over-the-air in Chicago on the digital subchannels of WJYS-Ch. 62, but viewers need to buy an add-on antenna to get the programming. Ganis believes running some games on a mainstream Chicago TV station such as WGN, which previously carried the Cubs, Sox, Bulls and Blackhawks, would provide broader distribution and the opportunity for cross-promotion to get CHSN off the ground. A report in the Chicago Sun-Times Friday suggested that WGN-TV is open to a deal with CHSN. Spokespersons for the TV station and the regional sports network declined to comment. A joint venture between the Sox, Bulls, Blackhawks and Nashville, Tennessee-based Standard Media, CHSN went live Oct.1 on pay-TV platforms DirecTV and Astound, and over the air on WJYS-Ch. 62. It subsequently added streaming service FuboTV and its own direct-to-consumer streaming app, but has yet to strike a deal with Comcast, the market's largest pay-TV provider. Comcast was a partner in the predecessor NBC Sports Chicago, the regional sports network which ended a 20-year run in September at the conclusion of a White Sox season that saw the team set an MLB record for losses. A Comcast spokesperson said in an email Thursday the cable giant is 'continuing to have discussions' with CHSN but had no updates to share. Sources familiar with the negotiations said Comcast is looking to move both CHSN and Marquee Sports Network, the pay-TV home of the Cubs, to its more expensive Ultimate tier, something it has done with other regional sports networks across the U.S. in recent months. Marquee, which launched in 2020, has remained on Comcast through a series of short-term extensions after its inaugural carriage agreement expired Sept. 30. A Marquee spokesperson did not return a request for comment this week. The Ultimate tier costs an additional $20 per month — on top of the $20.25 regional sports network fee Comcast charges Chicago-area subscribers each month. Comcast has been issuing a monthly $8.85 credit to partially offset that fee during the ongoing carriage negotiations with CHSN. A similar battle had been playing out in New York, where Comcast threatened to black out the Yankees' YES network before opening day as it looked to move the broadcasts to its Ultimate tier. The Federal Communications Commission weighed in and an agreement was reached to keep the YES network on Comcast's basic tier, at least for now. Last week, Jerry Reinsdorf, chairman of the White Sox and Bulls, made a visit to FCC Chairman Brendan Carr, ostensibly to lobby for government help in getting CHSN on the air with Comcast in Chicago. Ganis said CHSN and the White Sox have a lot less leverage than YES and the Yankees, who have a winning tradition, a larger fan base and big TV ratings. 'The big difference is how many people watch Yankee games in New York — it's hundreds of thousands,' Ganis said. 'It's very different than the number of people who watch White Sox games in Chicago, even when they were on Comcast.' Last year, when the White Sox lost a record 121 games, the TV audience during the team's final season on NBC Sports Chicago shrank to a fractional .7 rating, according to Nielsen data. Sox games averaged a 1.0 rating in 2023 and 1.7 rating the previous year. For comparison, the Cubs averaged a 4.5 rating on NBC Sports Chicago during the team's championship season in 2016. CHSN has yet to provide TV ratings for the inaugural Bulls, Hawks and Sox seasons. Ganis suggested Comcast can afford to play hardball with CHSN on carriage negotiations because the three teams on the network do not necessarily make for must-see TV. The Hawks missed the playoffs and the young Bulls fell flat in their play-in game Wednesday against the Heat and also missed the playoffs. And the White Sox, off to a dismal start to the new season, are actually on pace to set a new record for futility. Meanwhile, one million Chicago-area Comcast subscribers who didn't cut the cord, switch pay-TV providers or buy an antenna, may have missed the entire Bulls and Blackhawks seasons, with the new White Sox campaign slipping away by the day. 'It's bad timing for all three teams to be in the valley of their success cycles,' Ganis said. 'Maybe one of the ways they can break that paradigm is to add visibility by putting a lot of the games on free television.'
