Just over a month ago, this site guesstimated the cost of a new Chicago White Sox stadium at $1.7 billion in public money and tax kickbacks, based on property tax exemptions already attached to the proposed South Loop site and how much could be generated by an extension of the city’s 2% hotel tax surcharge. Now Crain’s Chicago Business, citing no one specific, reports on what Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf’s actual public ask is likely to be, and yup, $1.7 billion:
Chicago White Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf is preparing to ask Gov. J.B. Pritzker and other state leaders for roughly $1 billion in public money to build his team a new home in the South Loop…
Reinsdorf and Related Midwest President Curt Bailey, the developer of The 78 site where the stadium would be built, have been meeting with elected officials and business and labor leaders to gin up enthusiasm for the deal before meeting with the governor. The two are bullish they can win state support by arguing the stadium subsidies will bring along billions more in private investment, and the deal is structured in a way to not require new or increased taxes.
Ah, the old “no new or increased taxes” line. It’s not true — extending a tax that would otherwise expire is 100% a new tax — but it sounds great as far as promising to provide a free lunch.
The $1 billion in state money would be on top of $700 million in previously approved property tax kickbacks for the stadiumd development site, which are slated to repay developer Related Midwest’s costs for such things as building a new Red Line el train stop, relocating other rail lines and rebuilding the riverfront seawall. As for where the $1 billion in state cash would come from, Crain’s provides a few glimpses courtesy of unnamed “sources familiar with the discussion”:
- Money from extending that 2% hotel tax surcharge beyond its current expiration date of 2034. To free up cash immediately, the Illinois Sports Facilities Authority would be asked to refinance existing debt on the White Sox and Bears stadiums; Crain’s noted that this would “potentially box out” the Bears owners from seeking the same hotel tax revenues, and that the two team owners are currently “in competition” for the money.
- Reinsdorf is seeking to have the state kick back its share of sales taxes on the stadium development site, which would amount to “roughly $400 million over an undisclosed period.” Since the site is already a property-tax TIF district, this would make it into a mega-TIF.
- “If those revenues fall short of the ISFA’s debt payments and the city is no longer backing the debt, who will?” asks Crain’s, not answering its own question.
That’s all pretty hazy, but it’s certainly enough to call this $1.7 billion in public cash, which would only be more taxpayer money than any other stadium in U.S. history. (I almost wrote “human history,” but then I remembered things like Putin’s caviar highway for the Sochi Olympics and figured best to stick with what I’m sure of.) Crain’s reports that Gov. J.B. Pritzker “has yet to rule anything out” on a White Sox stadium plan, while Mayor Brandon Johnson likes the general idea. It remains to be seen what regular Chicacagoans think of the deal, but hopefully someone will ask them sooner or late.
Geez, who does Reinsdorf th`ink that he’s dealing with? Oklahoma City? :)
Unfortunately, the White Sox/Reinsdorf will get the $1B+
Oh sure there may be some public handwringing about whether “we can afford it,” but in the end, the politicians will do what they do, which is acquiesce to billionaire sports owners, just as they handed over millions for the “first” White Sox “new” stadium.
“It remains to be seen what regular Chicacagoans think of the deal…”
Who, in any position of influence or power, would care? Or even bother to ask?
Oh man! I’m so sick of all this stadium EXTORTION! I know this will never happen, BUT….Tell Reinsdorf to build his own damn New New Comiskey Park in Saudi Arabia. The state of Illinois doesn’t need to lay out money again for that loser of a ball club.
At least Jerry is not asking for as much as Kevin Warren is . He wants a 2 billion dollar stadium, and for the city to demolish the current soldier field it owes 587 million on still . That would be in an attempt to make the world’s most expensive park and appease the environmental groups . Oh and don’t forget he wants them to go against the lakefront ordinance to build it as well .
And the Sox haven’t even tried to make an excuse for why they want a new stadium? Why is ‘signing a lease extension’ not an option?
“All the other kids have one” isn’t a good enough reason? You’re not my real dad!