People are excited for the new White Sox ballpark in the South Loop, even though the team or city hasn't announced any details yet. about their plans.
Credit to the Sox for getting fans hyped for opening day, even if it's not until 2030, and to Mayor Brandon Johnson, who probably won't be around when construction starts.
If we're moving fast to make Chairman Jerry Reinsdorf's new project happen, it's time to think about naming rights. Chairman Jerry Reinsdorf’s new pet project come to fruition, we might as well start thinking about the naming rights.
Guaranteed Rate Field, the current ballpark name, hasn't really caught on since replacing U.S. Cellular Field, which was known as “the Cell.” Old Comiskey Park was renamed U.S. Cellular Field, but Reinsdorf won't copy Comiskey's self-naming idea.
No matter what it's called, many fans still call the Sox’s home “Sox Park,” an easily remembered name for all generations.
While we wait for Reinsdorf and Johnson’s plan, here are 10 suggestions for the new South Loop ballpark:
1. Manny’s Cafeteria & Delicatessen Stadium
The South Loop’s popular restaurant deserves to be considered for the new stadium name.
The classic Jewish deli is close to the proposed stadium site and likely to be as popular for pregame dining as McCuddy’s was for pregame drinking.
2. Rat Hole Park
The Rat Hole Preservation Society, our nickname for the anonymous volunteers in Roscoe Village who helped save the city’s latest tourist attraction from vandalism, needs to set up a GoFundMe page for the naming rights.
The Rat Hole is a rodent-shaped crater in a sidewalk that somehow became as famous as the Bean. The Sox could even get creative and design a park with the same imprint. Rat Hole Park would be a perfect destination for a ballgame in Chicago and would honor both our favorite rodents and our history of corrupt politicians.
The only problem might be that some Sox fans already refer to Wrigley Field as “the rat hole.”
3. The 78
The area around Clark Street and Roosevelt Road is already called “the 78″ based on someone’s idea that it eventually would become the 78th neighborhood in Chicago.
“The 78″ could also be seen as an homage to the 1978 White Sox, a team that had the misfortune of following the popular ‘77 group known as the “South Side Hit Men.” Without “rent-a-players” Richie Zisk and Oscar Gamble, the stars of the Hit Men, the Sox plunged to a 90-loss season. They did however manage to acquire Claudell Washington in a trade for Bobby Bonds, and the outfielder’s inability to play hard inspired the famous banner in right field: “Washington Slept Here.”
4. Obama Yards
The world’s most famous Sox fan is former President Barack Obama, though he once called Comiskey Park “Comiskey Field” in an interview with Bob Costas.
Obama’s presidential library currently is under construction in Jackson Park and could use a bookend a few miles north. One fan of the White Sox openly begged Reinsdorf in an article in the Chicago Tribune to sell the team to Obama. but first, let's focus on other things. If the stadium were named after Obama, it might persuade him to attend some games.
5. Loop Park
It might be easier to attract people back to the Loop if it meant going to a ballpark with the same name. The former classic rock radio station called “the Loop” would be a suitable connection for nostalgic Sox fans.
A statue of Steve Dahl blowing up disco albums would be a nice addition to the center, commemorating one of the most famous moments in Sox history. commemorating one of the most celebrated moments in Sox history.
6. Second City Stadium
The Second City improv theater is home to some well-known names in comedy over the years, from John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd to Tina Fey and Stephen Colbert. In the mid ‘90s, I asked George Wendt, a South Side Sox fan and a former member of the Second City comedy troupe who played Norm on “Cheers,” for his thoughts on the team’s attendance issues in the new Comiskey Park.
“Maybe you could’ve put it on the free TV versus cable TV thing a few years back,” Wendt replied. “But now they’re on WGN sometimes, so I don’t know. It seems like emigres to Chicago, the postgraduates who settle here in the suburbs, north or south, become Cubs fans. It seems like to be a Sox fan, you have to be born and raised on the South Side.”
“Maybe you could’ve put it on the free TV versus cable TV thing a few years back,” Wendt replied. “But now they’re on WGN sometimes, so I don’t know. It seems like emigres to Chicago, the postgraduates who settle here in the suburbs, north or south, become Cubs fans. It seems like to be a Sox fan, you have to be born and raised on the South Side.”
That might still be true today.
7. This Space for Rent Field
As a temporary measure, while the Sox seek a sponsor from the cryptocurrency world.
8. Ozzie Guillen Field
The manager of the only Sox team to win a championship since 1917 doesn’t have a statue in Guaranteed Rate Field. To make amends, the Sox could name the new ballpark after Guillen, who currently works as an analyst for NBC Sports Chicago and provides unfiltered commentary on the team’s issues.
“Meet you at ‘the Oz’” sounds like a good way to start a day.
9. Taylor Swift Stadium
Being associated with the world’s biggest pop star seemed to work well for the NFL. The Sox could use the boost in attendance, even if Reinsdorf has to pay Swift for the use of her name.
10. Sox Park
Well, this is what it will eventually be called no matter what it’s named, so why not just cut to the chase?
()
