A bombshell report says that Chicago White Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf is “open to selling” the team as his push for a new stadium in the city encounters resistance.
According to the report from Brittany Ghiroli of The Athletic, Reinsdorf is in “active discussions” with a group led by former MLB player Dave Stewart about a potential sale.
Reinsdorf declined comment when reached by NBC Chicago.
"I never comment on unsourced rumors," he told the station.
The White Sox also declined comment.
Reinsdorf, 88, has been pushing for state funding to help facilitate the construction of a new ballpark in the South Loop as part of a development known as “The 78.” The White Sox went so far as to construct a full diamond at the site, with scenic views of the Chicago skyline in the background.
The proposed ballpark could come with a price tag of up to $1.1 billion in public funding. The site would also require Tax-Increment Funding to help facilitate infrastructure projects around the stadium, including a new CTA stop and rerouting existing Metra tracks.
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The team proposed paying for the park by extending a hotel service tax that has been used to pay bonds on Guaranteed Rate Field, the team’s current home.
The proposal has met significant opposition from Springfield, with Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker calling himself “really reluctant” to authorize the expenditure.
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“Unless a case is made that the investment yields a long-term return for the taxpayers that we can justify in some way, I haven’t seen it yet,” Pritzker said earlier this year.
According to estimates, more than $50 million in bonds still need to be repaid for the construction of Guaranteed Rate Field, which opened in 1991. That ballpark was built through a public financing deal pushed through by former Gov. Jim Thompson amid speculation that the team would move to Florida if it didn’t get a new stadium.
In Aug. 2023, Crain’s Chicago Business reported that the White Sox would consider moving out of Guaranteed Rate Field, floating a move to Nashville as a possibility. That was followed by Reinsdorf meeting with Nashville Mayor Freddie O’Connell during last year’s winter meetings in November.
Nashville has been one of the markets noted as a potential candidate for an expansion franchise, with Stewart serving as part of a group pursuing a team. Stewart has also been part of efforts to purchase the city of Oakland’s stake in the Oakland Coliseum in the years before the Athletics announced they would be leaving the city.
Any move or change in ownership would have to be approved by Major League Baseball. The league would likely prefer an expansion team in Nashville, with a potential expansion fee of $2 billion going into league coffers.
