The University of Illinois has backed out of plans to build a research and teaching facility at the proposed The 78 downtown development site, but don’t fret! This is actually good news, says site developer Related Midwest, because it means now they can build moar stadiumz:
“Given its proximity to downtown, adjacency to the river and flexibility to accommodate a wide range of uses, The 78 stands alone in its ability to house large institutions that want to plant their flag in the heart of Chicago,” their statement read, in part. “We are actively exploring the co-location of dual stadiums for the Chicago White Sox and Chicago Fire, two organizations whose presence at The 78 would align with our vision of creating Chicago’s next great neighborhood.”
That disturbing “plant a flag in the heart” image notwithstanding, the more alarming part here is that unlike a research and teaching facility, a soccer stadium for the Fire is unlikely to bring in enough new money to pay off its construction costs. (The Fire only bring in $45 million a year in gross revenue total, so relocating from Soldier Field to a new stadium isn’t likely to move the needle by more than a few million a year, which wouldn’t do the trick.) While Fire owner Joe Mansueto has said he doesn’t “believe in using Tax Dollars to fund these ANY such projects” (that’s the way he typed it, yes), it’s hard to picture a soccer stadium at the The 78 site without some public money, at least for infrastructure or tax breaks.
So we could be looking at additional public costs beyond $900 million in tax kickbacks for infrastructure plus $1.1 billion for a White Sox stadium. None of which anyone at any level of government has offered to step up to pay just yet. You can’t get if you don’t ask, sure, but tacking on a soccer stadium to an already aspirational project doesn’t seem likely to make the financing pencil out any better.
As a Fire and Sox dude (yay) I want to believe Mansueto, but I know how these things tend. I wish these teams were less “stadium-y” and more “better players-y.”
Dags, rooting for a sports team shouldn’t be this complicated.
There’s a reason this site hasn’t been developed. Surrounded by railroad tracks and the river, it’s not very accessible. One small road off 18th St. To put anything there that’s going to require getting lots of people in and out will require hundreds of millions in infrastructure. Widening 18th, ramps off Roosevelt & Clark, etc. Existing L stops at Roosevelt/State and Chinatown aren’t that close, you’d probably need an infill station around 16th/Clark.
So Howard Terminal Midwest, then?
Not quite that bad, but similar. Look on Google maps. Lets you see the challenges. Note that Roosevelt Road is an elevated bridge over the whole site with no access below.
The White Sox have nowhere to move to, so it would be insane to give them any money for a new ballpark, let alone well over $1 billion. That’s why all of these giveaways should have to be decided by a referendum on a November ballot.