Walk-Off Posted February 20 Share Posted February 20 Ballpark Digest: Report: Reinsdorf to seek $1B in state money for new Chicago White Sox ballpark Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GDAWG Posted February 20 Share Posted February 20 5 minutes ago, Walk-Off said: Ballpark Digest: Report: Reinsdorf to seek $1B in state money for new Chicago White Sox ballpark Something has got to give here: Does the city of Chicago have the finances for both a White Sox new ballpark and a new Bears stadium? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Walk-Off Posted February 20 Share Posted February 20 If I understand the report correctly, Jerry Reinsdorf seems to be pursuing funding from the State of Illinois, which is what he did for the current home of the White Sox more than three decades ago, rather than from the City of Chicago or Cook County. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sodboy13 Posted February 20 Share Posted February 20 23 minutes ago, GDAWG said: Something has got to give here: Does the city of Chicago have the finances for both a White Sox new ballpark and a new Bears stadium? Funny you should ask: The financing proposals floated by the Bears and White Sox both call for using the same limited pot of hotel tax revenue without any hikes, so the answer is a definitive "no." And watching the Bears and Sox go up against each other in matters of long-term planning will be akin to that fight in the front yard where Homer Simpson's relatives rammed into each other with cooking pots covering their heads. 6 Quote On 1/25/2013 at 1:53 PM, 'Atom said: For all the bird de lis haters I think the bird de lis isnt supposed to be a pelican and a fleur de lis I think its just a fleur de lis with a pelicans head. Thats what it looks like to me. Also the flair around the tip of the beak is just flair that fleur de lis have sometimes source I am from NOLA. PotD: 10/19/07, 08/25/08, 07/22/10, 08/13/10, 04/15/11, 05/19/11, 01/02/12, and 01/05/12. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Walk-Off Posted February 20 Share Posted February 20 3 hours ago, Sodboy13 said: [W]atching the Bears and Sox go up against each other in matters of long-term planning will be akin to that fight in the front yard where Homer Simpson's relatives rammed into each other with cooking pots covering their heads. In that kind of battle, I would take Jerry Reinsdorf and the White Sox over the McCaskey family and the Bears any day. At least to me, Reinsdorf, for all of his faults and flaws, gives off an impression of being very certain about what he wants. By contrast, the McCaskeys have seemed to spend many years hemming and hawing over where to locate a new stadium for the Bears, what kind of new stadium the Bears should have (e.g. seating capacity, permanently outdoor vs. retractable roof vs. permanently indoor, etc.), or even whether or not to have the Bears leave Soldier Field in the first place. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GhostOfNormMacdonald Posted February 20 Share Posted February 20 17 hours ago, BottomlessPitt said: Move the D'Backs to Vegas and the A's to Phoenix. The AZ A's has a ring to it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Red Comet Posted February 20 Share Posted February 20 (edited) Regarding this whole A’s debacle and now this Chicago craziness, I think Norm MacDonald said it best: Edited February 20 by Red Comet 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Posted February 21 Share Posted February 21 On 2/19/2024 at 4:42 PM, BottomlessPitt said: Move the D'Backs to Vegas and the A's to Phoenix. You’re not very funny 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The_Admiral Posted February 21 Share Posted February 21 On 2/19/2024 at 6:53 PM, Walk-Off said: Ballpark Digest: Report: Reinsdorf to seek $1B in state money for new Chicago White Sox ballpark Quote Using hotel/motel taxes to fund sports facilities has a long history in the sports-facility world across the country: because the overwhelming amount is paid by out of towners, the impact on local taxpayers is minimal. WE DON'T GET CONVENTIONS ANYMORE. NO ONE TRAVELS FOR BUSINESS ANYMORE. The hotel tax is not some pot of infinite money. We're not even done using hotel taxes to pay for New Comiskey, which is 34 years old and in fine condition. There's not a billion dollars lying around to let 12,000 people look at the Sears Tower while complaining that A.J. Pierzynski should be the manager. Quote Also part of the mix: a TIF district–also known as tax-overlay districts in Illinois–would divert sales-tax revenue generated by the development, up to $400 million. The Illinois Sports Facilities Authority would then issue bonds to back the ballpark construction. Again, TIF districts are a popular tool for financing sports facilities: the rationale is that the increased tax payment wouldn’t exist without the sports facilities. There's our old friend, the TIF district. Longtime readers of the NHL Anti-Thread remember that Jerry Reinsdorf's plan to buy the Coyotes was to pay for it in installments from TIF district revenues, thereby making the taxpayers buy the team for him. Good thing Chicago doesn't need money for literally anything else right now [next Blue Line train to O'Hare departs in 35 minutes] 1 Quote ♫ oh yeah, board goes on, long after the thrill of postin' is gone ♫ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sodboy13 Posted February 21 Share Posted February 21 https://capitolfax.com/2024/02/20/reinsdorf-says-i-dont-want-to-talk-about-that-when-asked-why-his-ballclub-needs-another-state-subsidy/ Quote As White Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf emerged from one of his meetings with legislative leaders today, Isabel tried to get him to justify his subsidy plan… Isabel: Sir, why do the White Sox need another subsidy after being… Reinsdorf: Oh, I don’t want to talk about that. Then what brings you to Springfield on this fine February Tuesday, ya putz? 1 Quote On 1/25/2013 at 1:53 PM, 'Atom said: For all the bird de lis haters I think the bird de lis isnt supposed to be a pelican and a fleur de lis I think its just a fleur de lis with a pelicans head. Thats what it looks like to me. Also the flair around the tip of the beak is just flair that fleur de lis have sometimes source I am from NOLA. PotD: 10/19/07, 08/25/08, 07/22/10, 08/13/10, 04/15/11, 05/19/11, 01/02/12, and 01/05/12. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The_Admiral Posted February 21 Share Posted February 21 I've given Reinsdorf credit for knowing how to work the government better than the McCaskeys--the bar is the floor on that one--but JB Pritzker and his quiet-but-not-that-quiet presidential aspirations may make him a worthier adversary than Madigan or Big Gay Jim or whoever else Jerry could buy off. Quote ♫ oh yeah, board goes on, long after the thrill of postin' is gone ♫ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fowler2 Posted February 21 Share Posted February 21 MOD EDIT: Keep it civil. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sodboy13 Posted February 21 Share Posted February 21 *rocks on porch* Oh, been a fair bit since we had a Poster To Watch 'round these parts. 2 2 1 Quote On 1/25/2013 at 1:53 PM, 'Atom said: For all the bird de lis haters I think the bird de lis isnt supposed to be a pelican and a fleur de lis I think its just a fleur de lis with a pelicans head. Thats what it looks like to me. Also the flair around the tip of the beak is just flair that fleur de lis have sometimes source I am from NOLA. PotD: 10/19/07, 08/25/08, 07/22/10, 08/13/10, 04/15/11, 05/19/11, 01/02/12, and 01/05/12. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sodboy13 Posted February 21 Share Posted February 21 1 hour ago, The_Admiral said: I've given Reinsdorf credit for knowing how to work the government better than the McCaskeys--the bar is the floor on that one--but JB Pritzker and his quiet-but-not-that-quiet presidential aspirations may make him a worthier adversary than Madigan or Big Gay Jim or whoever else Jerry could buy off. So much has changed since Jerry's big heist, too, including his paying his own way for half of the United Center. Big Jim's raking it in for one of America's most prestigious and vile law firms, Mike Madigan's on the slow train to prison, Biggest Sox Fan Richie Daley should be on the ride with him but has opted to cede all of his family's power and influence instead of face the slammer, and if you asked Brandon Johnson who his favorite baseball team was, it's entirely possible he'd stare at you mouth agape for three minutes before blurting "PACKERS!" and running out of the room. That, and we've all had enough object lessons in the true economic benefits of publicly financed sports stadiums that when someone starts with the purple prose and magical number, anyone who's been paying attention knows that person is either getting their cut or is an impossibly dense mark. 4 2 Quote On 1/25/2013 at 1:53 PM, 'Atom said: For all the bird de lis haters I think the bird de lis isnt supposed to be a pelican and a fleur de lis I think its just a fleur de lis with a pelicans head. Thats what it looks like to me. Also the flair around the tip of the beak is just flair that fleur de lis have sometimes source I am from NOLA. PotD: 10/19/07, 08/25/08, 07/22/10, 08/13/10, 04/15/11, 05/19/11, 01/02/12, and 01/05/12. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sodboy13 Posted February 22 Share Posted February 22 Jerry Reinsdorf would apparently now like to talk about that, as he sat for an hour with Greg Hinz, who currently has one foot out the door from Crain's Chicago Business. Some of the comedic highlights: * It is much more important for him to build a winning team in Chicago than to make money. * He expects the entire cost of the stadium - $2 billion - to be paid for with the hotel tax, bonds and the TIF district scheme. In other words, not a penny out of his pocket. * If the deal doesn't get approved really soon and he dies, his family will sell Jerry's stake to the other White Sox owners. And while Jerry, dear sweet Jerry, would never move this franchise out of Chicago, well, there no telling what all those other owners would do, but he has an inkling! * What happens to Comiskey, that stadium the state still owes money on 33 years later, when the Sox move? I dunno, rip off the upper deck and make the Fire move there or something. Not his ballpark, not his problem. https://archive.is/20240221225356/https://www.chicagobusiness.com/sports/chicago-white-sox-need-new-stadium-compete-stay-city-jerry-reinsdorf 1 1 Quote On 1/25/2013 at 1:53 PM, 'Atom said: For all the bird de lis haters I think the bird de lis isnt supposed to be a pelican and a fleur de lis I think its just a fleur de lis with a pelicans head. Thats what it looks like to me. Also the flair around the tip of the beak is just flair that fleur de lis have sometimes source I am from NOLA. PotD: 10/19/07, 08/25/08, 07/22/10, 08/13/10, 04/15/11, 05/19/11, 01/02/12, and 01/05/12. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The_Admiral Posted February 22 Share Posted February 22 I think back to when he and Einhorn first bought the team in the '80s and looked on in abject horror at Andy the Clown and shirtless Harry in the bleachers and cheap seats and cheap beer and all the general weirdness of the Sox back then and immediately went about getting rid of all of it. This is a guy who for 40 years has hated the fans of his team. I wouldn't be scared of his partners buying him out because to move the team to Nashville would be the one final screw-you only Jerry could give. Quote ♫ oh yeah, board goes on, long after the thrill of postin' is gone ♫ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Walk-Off Posted February 22 Share Posted February 22 6 hours ago, Sodboy13 said: Jerry Reinsdorf would apparently now like to talk about that, as he sat for an hour with Greg Hinz, who currently has one foot out the door from Crain's Chicago Business. Some of the comedic highlights: * It is much more important for him to build a winning team in Chicago than to make money. * He expects the entire cost of the stadium - $2 billion - to be paid for with the hotel tax, bonds and the TIF district scheme. In other words, not a penny out of his pocket. * If the deal doesn't get approved really soon and he dies, his family will sell Jerry's stake to the other White Sox owners. And while Jerry, dear sweet Jerry, would never move this franchise out of Chicago, well, there no telling what all those other owners would do, but he has an inkling! * What happens to Comiskey, that stadium the state still owes money on 33 years later, when the Sox move? I dunno, rip off the upper deck and make the Fire move there or something. Not his ballpark, not his problem. https://archive.is/20240221225356/https://www.chicagobusiness.com/sports/chicago-white-sox-need-new-stadium-compete-stay-city-jerry-reinsdorf As sarcastic as this whole take seems to be, and as much of a slow-pitch softball as that interview is, at least the full article brings up Reinsdorf's threat to move the White Sox to the Tampa Bay area in the latter half of the 1980s and the resulting extraction of Illinois state tax money to keep the Pale Hose in Chicago via their current ballpark. Meanwhile, conspicuously absent from that whole interview and article is any mention of Reinsdorf's meeting with the mayor of Nashville two months ago, a detail that seems to undermine any notion that Reinsdorf is somehow more loyal to the Chicago area than are any and all of his co-investors in the Chisox. Finally, as much of a "stan" for a Nashville MLB team as I am, the difference in size between the Chicago and Nashville markets is such that I beg to differ with Reinsdorf's insinuation that a Nashville White Sox team would be worth more than that franchise has been as the Windy City's "junior" MLB club. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The_Admiral Posted February 22 Share Posted February 22 Aren't all the other Sox owners a bunch of octogenarian Jews from the Old Neighborhood? They're not gonna kill their team. Quote ♫ oh yeah, board goes on, long after the thrill of postin' is gone ♫ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luigi74 Posted February 22 Share Posted February 22 1 hour ago, The_Admiral said: Aren't all the other Sox owners a bunch of octogenarian Jews from the Old Neighborhood? They're not gonna kill their team. They're not moving anywhere, this is just blackmail to get someone else to pay for the stadium. Plus the other owners would rather get expansion fee money from Nashville instead of relocation fee money from the Sox owners. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sodboy13 Posted February 22 Share Posted February 22 I think the valid concern is that the only people dumb enough to still bite on this are also the ones with the authority to hand over my money for it. 1 Quote On 1/25/2013 at 1:53 PM, 'Atom said: For all the bird de lis haters I think the bird de lis isnt supposed to be a pelican and a fleur de lis I think its just a fleur de lis with a pelicans head. Thats what it looks like to me. Also the flair around the tip of the beak is just flair that fleur de lis have sometimes source I am from NOLA. PotD: 10/19/07, 08/25/08, 07/22/10, 08/13/10, 04/15/11, 05/19/11, 01/02/12, and 01/05/12. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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