Chicago Officials Take a Look at Finding New Homes for Bears, Cubs, White Sox

The city of Chicago’s familiar image is Al Capone and gangsters in black touring cars driving around city streets trying to fend off Eliot Ness and the Untouchables.

All vintage 1920s stuff.

Unfortunately, the city hasn’t been able to shake another 1920s image--where its professional teams reside. The major facilities were all built at or before the time of Capone.

The newest is Chicago Stadium, built in the late 1920s. Wrigley Field (built in 1916) is approaching its diamond anniversary, a celebration already enjoyed by baseball’s oldest park, Comiskey Park (1910). Soldier Field opened for football on Nov. 22, 1924.

Mayor Harold Washington wants to change that image. He has proposed an all-purpose stadium in the south Loop area designed to lure the White Sox, Cubs and Bears.

But considering the uncertainity of Chicago politics--some things haven’t changed since Capone--few consider the plan can fly.

“Actually, I see a lot of problems and I don’t see it taking place,” says Bears’ president Michael McCaskey.

The idea of a downtown sports stadium was born in major cities two decades ago. The late Mayor Richard Daley had floated a plan in the late 1960s when urban renewal projects were seeing structures built in Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, St. Louis and Cincinnati. It has taken until 1986 to get the Chicago plan on the drawing board.

Part of the reason for the timing is the possibility the city will lose all three teams to the Chicago suburbs, were population shifts and demographics have made the outskirts more promising for the future than the inner city.

It could also mean losing a team. The White Sox, tenants of ancient Comiskey Park, could wind up going elsewhere if a proper stadium package doesn’t develop.

“It would have to be at the bottom of the lists of alternatives, but it is something that would have to be considered,” said Sox vice president of finance Howard Pizer.

The Bears have an option on land in Du Page County, one of the fastest growing areas in the last decade outside of the Sun Belt. The Cubs have flirted with the suburb of Schaumburg while the Sox have a parcel of land in the suburb of Addison.

The Bears own the trump card in any stadium deal.

“Obviously, for anything to work, it would have to include the Bears,” said a city spokesman. “It just won’t work with one team and the chances for both city baseball teams to stay in the same park would be remote.”

The Bears currently have a lease in Soldier Field through the end of the century. But McCaskey is convinced the Super Bowl champs can get out of it because of insurance coverage problems with the city park district.

“The liability insurance thing is a concern,” McCaskey said. “I think because most of our fans are in the suburbs, we could ultimately wind up there.”

The Bears pressured the Park District into building sky boxes three years ago. But a new facility of its own or in tandem with the Cubs could mean more revenue for the club.

The Cubs are in a prolonged struggle to get lights in Wrigley Field for what they argue would be a maximum of 18 games a year. But legislative roadblocks may force the Chicago Tribune Co., owners of the club, to build somewhere else.

“It’s the commitment of this club to stay at Wrigley Field,” said vice president Don Grenesko. “We’re interested in what the city has to offer and what the suburbs have to offer. But the lights issue is the key thing for us.”

The Cubs used to be landlords for the Bears. The Tribune Co. and McCaskey are more likely to join in a stadium venture with the Cubs than with the Sox. McCaskey has downplayed any move with the Sox because Eddie Einhorn, Sox president, has an option on a USFL team in the city.

The Sox are in the most precarious position of the three. Maintenance of Comiskey Park is estimated to cost $5 million a year, a drain on the resources of private owners Jerry Reinsdorf and Einhorn. Reinsdorf owns the Chicago Bulls and would like to have a facility to host both of his clubs.

But the Sox owners have long maintained the Cubs, backed by the Tribune and superstation WGN-TV, rule the city. Movement away from Comiskey Park to tap a new venue of fans could be a panacea.

Sox management would like the city to provide a structure, financed through revenue bonds, rather than having to come up with the cash themselves.

“We’re exploring talks but we understand the need for another team to be in there. I honestly can’t understand why the Bears feel the way they do,” Pizer added.

The thought of the Sox abandoning Chicago isn’t new. The team almost moved to Seattle in 1975, only to be saved by the late Bill Veeck. Reinsdorf and Einhorn don’t want to give up the nation’s third-biggest media market and could face an uphill battle convincing American League owners to let them move.