On Wednesday, the New York Times dropped a bombshell when it reported that White Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf is open to selling the team. It gives a fanbase, that has been longing for Reinsdorf to sell the team for years, a sense of hope. However, the sense of jubilation felt by the fanbase when they read the headline was put on pause when they saw who Reinsdorf was in “active discussions” with. Former 16-year MLB veteran Dave Stewart.
Stewart is determined to own a baseball team. He was part of an ownership group that attempted to buy the Marlins in 2017. His group, Smoke34, also attempted to purchase 50 percent of the Oakland Coliseum in 2021. Recently Stewart has turned his attention to Nashville.
The former All-Star pitcher was part of the Music City Baseball Group, an organization dedicated to bringing an MLB franchise to the Nashville area. Former Titan’s running back Eddie George was also a part of the group. Music City Baseball’s goal is to build a stadium with private funds on the Cumberland River on land controlled by Tennessee State University. The name of the team would be the Nashville Stars, a tribute to a former Negro Leagues team.
Despite leaving the group earlier this year, the New York Times reports that it is still unknown what Stewart’s involvement with the White Sox would mean for staying in Chicago long term. Stewart has already met with MLB commissioner Rob Manfred about trying to secure a team in Nashville.
Despite the uncertainty, it seems like a long shot for a team that has played in Chicago since 1901 would leave town. Moving the White Sox out of Chicago would be bad for business. Despite playing second fiddle to the Cubs, the market share and exposure the team gets in Chicago is far greater than what the team would receive in Nashville. If Nashville gets a team it would likely come in the form of an expansion team, not an original American League franchise. Sports Illustrated reported in February that the MLB could add two expansion teams as soon as 2028 or ’29.
Odds are Stewart’s desire to own an MLB franchise is greater than his desire to move a team to Nashville. But involving Stewart in the discussions could be a tactic from Reinsdorf to secure money for a stadium. In February Reinsdorf predicted during an interview with Crain’s that Chicago would lose the White Sox without a new stadium. Reinsdorf said that after his death his son Michael “will have an obligation to do what’s best” for other investors. This likely means selling the team, which in Reinsdorf’s eyes will be worth more if they are located downtown.
It’s no coincidence that rumors of the White Sox looking into moving to Nashville leaked shortly before Reisndorf tried to lobby for public funding for a new ballpark in downtown Chicago. In 1991 Resinsdorf threatened to move the White Sox to St. Petersburg, Florida, before financing came together at the last minute to fund a new stadium which was built directly across from the original Comiskey Park.
The White Sox current agreement with the Illinois Sports Facilities Authority, which owns Guaranteed Rate Field, is a very team-friendly deal. The city of Chicago and the state of Illinois contribute $5 million annually to help fund the ballpark. The White Sox only pays $1.5 million in annual rent and controls revenue from ticket sales, concessions, parking, and merchandise.
In 2009 the Illinois Sports Facilities Authority paid roughly $7 million to build ChiSox Bar & Grill, a restaurant attached to the outside of the stadium. The White Sox only chipped in $1 million for the project, according to a previous report from the Chicago Tribune.
Under the agreement, the White Sox didn’t have to pay a fee to use the stadium until 2008. The deal rewards the White Sox for poor attendance. According to the Chicago Tribunes report the White Sox must pay a fee on each ticket sold over 1.93 million in paid attendance, a total the White Sox have reached just once (2022) in the last decade. In the first ten years of the lease, the club did not have to pay rent if annual attendance fell below $1.5 million.
You don’t get that type of deal without some leverage, which it probably wasn’t a coincidence that rumors that the White Sox were considering a move to Nashville began to circulate a few months before plans to build a new stadium were released.
