Opinion: The Most Disliked Guy in Chicago Sports Wants $1 Billion for New Stadium

Somehow, this reminds me of Dr. Evil.

Sports StadiumPhoto byMick HauptonUnsplash

When I used the word, “disliked” in the title, it’s because I’m reluctant to use the word, “hated.” The vast majority of White Sox fans would love to see a change in ownership. The fan base, in general, feels like they are held hostage by an owner who is unwilling, or incapable of doing what it takes to put a winner on the field.

And Reinsdorf seems not to care what the fans think. He joked about the Sox not pursuing Shohei Ohtani while pining over David Eckstein. And then there’s the hiring of Chris Getz to oversee the Sox rebuild, plus reports of Tony LaRussa puttering around the Sox spring training camp. All of that indicates either a real tone deafness or arrogance towards the fan base on the part of Reinsdorf. I think it’s the latter.

Froggy Goes a Courtin…

Against this backdrop, it seems Jerry Reinsdorf is going to attempt to secure $1 billion to use to build a new stadium in the South Loop area of Chicago.

This reminds some observers of what Reinsdorf did a few years after the team in 1981. Back then, Reinsdorf leveraged a threat of moving the team to Tampa Bay into some public money for a new stadium.

That same ploy might be in play.

Will it work?

Frankly, in politics nothing is certain. If you read comments regarding public money for a stadium, the response is overwhelmingly negative. Plus, as already stated, Reinsdorf himself is hugely unpopular.

The tenor from the White Sox fans seems to be that Reinsdrof should go ahead and take the team to Nashville and not let the door hit him in the rear end.

It might be seen as a way to get rid of a Reinsdorf-owned team and hope for another team to relocate to Chicago or to get an expansion team.

But it’s politics so who knows what will happen.