The White Sox have spent the better part of three years searching for their potential next home. Now, the clearest look yet at Justin Ishbia’s vision for the franchise’s future has arrived.
Canal Edge, a development company controlled by Ishbia, has released new renderings for a potential White Sox stadium as part of a massive riverfront development being called “The Railyards.” According to the Crain’s Chicago Business, the proposed ballpark would be built on the west side of the Chicago River, stretching from Roosevelt Road south toward 18th Street, with Canal Street forming the western boundary of the development.
The images once again show the White Sox playing with the Chicago skyline as a backdrop, but this time the stadium sits on the opposite side of the river from the original “The 78” proposal. Right field would run directly alongside the Chicago River, creating the possibility for one of the more distinctive waterfront settings in Major League Baseball.
More importantly, unlike some of the conceptual images that have surfaced over the past several months, these renderings are connected directly to Ishbia and the land he has spent much of the past year positioning himself to acquire.
White Sox fans have seen this general vision before. In early 2024, the White Sox and Related Midwest unveiled plans for a new stadium at The 78, the 62-acre undeveloped property immediately east of the Chicago River near Roosevelt Road and Clark Street. Those renderings featured a 35,000-to-38,000-seat ballpark facing the downtown skyline and surrounded by residential buildings, restaurants, bars, public green space and an expanded Riverwalk.
At the time, the plan was envisioned as something similar to the entertainment districts surrounding Truist Park in Atlanta or Busch Stadium in St. Louis. Jerry Reinsdorf and Related Midwest pursued significant public support for the project, but those efforts failed to gain enough traction in Springfield. Meanwhile, Chicago Fire owner Joe Mansueto moved forward with plans for his own privately financed soccer stadium at The 78. The Fire broke ground on the project earlier this year, substantially changing the equation for a potential White Sox stadium on that property.
However, in March, news surfaced that Ishbia’s Shore Capital Partners was under contract to acquire Amtrak’s approximately 47-acre 14th Street rail yard directly across the river from The 78. Initial plans centered on a large mixed-use development featuring a potential Northwestern Medicine healthcare facility and medical innovation hub, though sources consistently indicated that a future White Sox ballpark was also being considered.
That land is now the foundation of the newly revealed Railyards concept.
The biggest problem with building anything on the site is obvious: it is still an active rail yard. That is where Ishbia’s involvement with Amtrak becomes especially significant. Canal Edge is helping finance and deliver a new Midwest Maintenance Facility for Amtrak at an existing Union Pacific rail yard farther south near Bridgeport. The replacement facility is expected to cost approximately $900 million, with the Federal Railroad Administration awarding grants worth up to $572 million for the maintenance facility and another $87 million for related bridge and viaduct improvements. Ishbia himself has committed more than $125 million in personal capital to the project. Construction could begin this fall and would take roughly 18 months.
For now, it is important to still separate Ishbia’s plans from an official White Sox stadium decision.
Jerry Reinsdorf remains the controlling owner and sole day-to-day decisionmaker for the organization. Under the ownership agreement announced in June 2025, Reinsdorf has the option to sell his controlling interest in the White Sox to Ishbia at any point from 2029 through 2033. If that does not happen, Ishbia gains his own option to acquire the controlling interest following the 2034 season. No ownership change can occur before 2029, and the agreement does not technically guarantee one will occur at all.
The timing nevertheless lines up closely with the stadium situation. The White Sox’s lease at Rate Field expires following the 2029 season, and Ishbia has made little secret of his belief that a new ballpark will eventually be part of his stewardship of the franchise. Last year, Ishbia told the Sun-Times that whether a stadium comes in four years or 34 years, he expects to eventually be involved in building one for the White Sox.
There remains a long list of hurdles before anyone starts pouring concrete for a White Sox ballpark.
Amtrak’s relocation must move forward, which is far from a guarantee. The proposed move has received pushback from Bridgeport residents and 11th Ward Ald. Nicole Lee, while Senators Dick Durbin and Tammy Duckworth have sought additional information about the project. Amtrak has acknowledged that city approval is still required for its new maintenance facility.
Questions surrounding public transportation, parking and vehicle access will eventually become significant as well. A riverfront stadium this close to downtown provides obvious advantages, but the site does not currently have the same straightforward combination of CTA access and enormous surface parking lots that surrounds Rate Field.
And then there is the question of what happens at 35th and Shields if the White Sox leave a neighborhood they have called home since 1910.
Those discussions are nowhere close to being resolved. Still, Saturday’s announcement represents another significant development in a stadium story that has changed dramatically since the original renderings for The 78 were released in February 2024.
Despite all the changes though, the central idea remains similar: a downtown-facing White Sox ballpark on the Chicago River, surrounded by a larger neighborhood designed to remain active well beyond the 81 dates on the baseball schedule.
For the first time, however, Ishbia is beginning to show exactly what his version of that future might look like.
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Featured Image: Crain’s Chicago
I still maintain that Arlington Park is the best option for a new future White Sox stadium. The 326-acre site is vastly bigger than “The Railyards” 47-acre site or “The 78” 62-acre parcel that the Fire have already broken ground on. Arlington Park has plenty of room for two stadiums if the Bears still wind up there. There’s also less traffic conflict at Arlington Park with a baseball and football schedule than what would occur with a baseball and soccer schedule if the White Sox wind up at “The Railyards” or still try to fit in at “The 78” with the Fire.
Arlington Park also features better infrastructure with easy access to multiple Interstates and an existing Metra Line that already borders it. Justin Ishbia is also a superior businessman to the McCaskey family and would be a better bet to help influence other businesses looking to get involved in a huge multi-development at Arlington Park, to say nothing of his ability to work more favorably with local and state governments than what the Bears have done since acquiring the property 3-1/2 years ago and counting.
Additionally, the Ishbia drawings depict an open air ballpark and not a stadium with a retractable roof which should be mandatory for any future MLB stadium where inclement weather is a factor. With MLB seasons now beginning in late March, this makes any northern city susceptible to cold weather for up two months and also in October for postseason games. The freaking Milwaukee Brewers have such a ballpark but Chicago will apparently have to settle for two antiquated ones. It’s bad enough having to endure frigid night games at the “Rate” in early spring but not having sufficient nearby parking at the new “Railyards” will make attending even worse.
Apparently the fans who didn’t care for my suggestions are satisfied with the White Sox continuing as the bastard stepchild to the Cubs in Chicago. This could have been avoided over 30 years ago when Jerry Reinsdorf desired a new ballpark in west suburban Addison but those plans never materialized because the wealthy citizens in Medina made sure Dupage County voted it down.
JR had to settle for his new stadium being across the street from the old one in Bridgeport after holding the state hostage with his threat to move the team to Florida. Meanwhile, the White Sox have remained the second baseball team in the “Second City”, in part because of location and in part due to inadequate ownership.
Hopefully Justin Ishbia and his family will turn the tide in favor of the White Sox but it would be a no-brainer with a better location and stadium plan that included a retractable roof ballpark.
I still maintain that Arlington Park is the best option for a new future White Sox stadium. The 326-acre site is vastly bigger than “The Railyards” 47-acre site or “The 78” 62-acre parcel that the Fire has already broken ground on. Arlington Park has plenty of room for two stadiums if the Bears still wind up there. There’s also less traffic conflict In Arlington Park with a baseball and football schedule than what would occur with a baseball and soccer schedule if the White Sox wind up at “The Railyards” or still try to fit in at “The 78” with the Fire.
Arlington Park also features better infrastructure with easy access to multiple Interstates and an existing Metra Line that already borders it. Justin Ishbia is also a superior businessman to the McCaskey family and would be a better bet to help influence other businesses looking to get involved in a huge multi-development at Arlington Park, to say nothing of his ability to work more favorably with local and state governments than what the Bears have done since acquiring the property 3-1/2 years ago and counting.