Are White Sox eyeing move to South Loop?

Are the White Sox on the move, again?

According to a report in the Chicago Sun-Times, the Sox are in “serious” talks to relocate to the South Loop.

The White Sox have been playing in Bridgeport, on the South Side of the city, since 1910. They called Comiskey Park home from 1910-90 before moving across the street into what is now named Guaranteed Rate Field.

The Sox lease the stadium from the Illinois Sports Facilities Authority and are under contract through the 2029 season.

While Guaranteed Rate Field is easily accessible by car right off the Dan Ryan Expressway, the surrounding neighborhood is mostly residential and there aren't many entertainment options for fans before or after games.

By moving a couple miles north to the South Loop, the White Sox's new stadium would be in a much more appealing location.

Specifically, the Sox are reportedly eyeing a 62-acre parcel at Roosevelt Road and Clark Street known as “The 78.”

The White Sox and Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson issued a joint statement about the proposed relocation.

“Mayor Brandon Johnson and White Sox chairman Jerry Reinsdorf met to discuss the historic partnership between the team and Chicago and the team’s ideas for remaining competitive in Chicago in perpetuity,” the statement said. “The partnership between the city and the team goes back more than a century and the Johnson administration is committed to continuing this dialogue moving forward.”

There have been rumblings about the White Sox moving out of Guaranteed Rate Field since August, when Crain's Chicago Business reported they were looking to relocate to Nashville.

In a meeting with a handful of reporters at Guaranteed Rate Field on Aug. 31, the 87-year-old Reinsdorf addressed the possibility.

"Somebody at Crain's decided he wanted to write that you're looking at the Bears, and the White Sox lease has six or seven years left to go, and the White Sox have some options, they might move out of the city, they might move out of town, they might go to Nashville," Reinsdorf said. "That wasn't us, that was a guy at Crain's. And ever since the article came out, I've been reading that I've been threatening to move to Nashville. That article didn't come from me."

Reinsdorf did admit it was time to start looking at options.

"It's obvious, if we have six years left we've got to decide what's the future going to be?" he said. "We'll get to it, but I never threatened to move out. We haven't even begun to have discussions with the (Illinois) Sports Authority, which we'll have to do soon."

The winter meetings were held in Nashville in early December and Reinsdorf was in town and he did meet with Mayor Freddie O'Connell.

"It was introductory in nature," said Alex Apple, O'Connell's deputy communications director. "The mayor did not share anything with Mr. Reinsdorf that he hasn't previously said publicly."