Take Me Out to the Train Yard

By Joe Aiello, Director of Community Engagement + Organizing

"Baseball is a lot like life. It’s a day-to-day existence, full of ups and downs." - Ernie Harwell

If you asked me for a list of things that are part of the true essence of this country, in all honesty, trains and baseball would be pretty damn high on the list. Not only that, but the two are forever linked in our history (just ask the Baseball Hall of Fame).

It was because of that history, back in 2018, our Summer By Rail tour was all about America’s Pastime (one of the first major projects I was directly involved in after I was hired).

And it’s not just trains, but public transit in general. Look at the number of accessible stadiums in the league - Target Field (Minneapolis), Yankee Stadium and Citi Field (NY), Wrigley Field and Rate Field (Chicago), Fenway Park (Boston), Chase Field (Phoenix), T-Mobile (Seattle)… just to name a few. And that doesn't include the countless minor league fields that you can get to by train.

Alright, Joe. Baseball. Trains. A trip nearly a decade ago. Where are you going with this?

Good question, random reader.

BUT FIRST!

A quick personal history side note….

Welcome to Armour Square on Chicago’s Southside. My old hood. The big blue circle was the site of the original Comiskey Park (aka the “Baseball Palace of the World”), a building where Pope Leo and I have seen many ballgames together. That small red circle, a block and half away, is the house I grew up in. The city park in-between is where I played tee-ball, various sports with friends, went to day camp, and never once got caught causing trouble as a teenager.

And as any lifelong and long-suffering White Sox fan will tell you, I absolutely despise our owner.

Which then brings me to the actual topic I want to write about this week.

Based on the number of social media comments, emails, and phone calls I have received in the past week - I am sure that most of you reading this have heard the news: the future (not current) owner of the Sox is in discussions, through his private equity firm, to purchase Amtrak’s 47-acre 14th Street rail yard. At the same time, Amtrak has been in discussions to leave their current spot and build a brand-new facility at Union Pacific’s Canal Yards.

For those who don’t know the area: the yellow circle is Union Station, the orange box is the current Amtrak and BNSF/Metra yards, the red area is the “78” where the Chicago Fire’s new soccer stadium is being built along with a new entertainment district. The green section is UP’s yard.

The point of this blog isn’t to take an official Association stance or anything, but it’s a topic of interest for someone who grew up less than 4 miles from Union Station and a mile from the freight yard. And there are a few things I wanted to clear up.

I think the most important thing to remember is that none of this is happening any time soon. In fact, Justin Ishbia might not even be the majority owner of the Sox until 2029 AT THE EARLIEST and has zero official input into the team until then. For now, Jerry Reinsdorf and team claim they are still focused on a new stadium at the 78 even though the Fire has beaten them to the punch with a 100% privately funded building (which I am extremely excited for).

There have also been comments about the fact that the Sox play in a building that is only entering its 35th season. True that it is not that old when compared to Fenway or Wrigley, but it is the last of an era of before the “retro” style took over the league (ironically enough, the original architect for the current Sox park left the project and went on to design/build Camden Yards in Baltimore which opened a year later). Part of the larger issue with the current location is that the team would like to develop an entertainment district (restaurants, open space, hotel, etc.) that could be used as a revenue source year round (like Jerry is doing with the United Center, a building he co-owns with the Wirtz family). However, the state owns the property and won’t let them build.

The final piece to all this is that Amtrak actively wants to leave the current yard and to build a brand-new facility that could handle a modernized fleet, like they are currently in the process of doing around the country. This becomes very important when linked with the news that they are (finally) set on a complete replacement of their long distance fleet - which would, of course, be primarily housed in Chicago. With all the mechanical issues, sadly on a regular basis these days, stemming from Amtrak’s current set-up I would think a fresh start might be welcomed news.

We might even see a replacement for that damn Canal Street railroad bridge, which would be a bonus, and maybe they could even be able to have a (GASP!) year-round washer.

This is all a very long-winded way of saying let’s all see how this plays out in the next year or so. There are so many details we don’t know yet and not a single pen to paper for even a back of the envelope design of any sort. It’s like the comments I saw immediately after the long distance fleet announcement - we all just need to have a little patience and see how the chips land before we start tearing things apart.

But if we (Sox fans) can get a new stadium, with new ownership, built over rail lines (remember the whole baseball and trains being forever linked together?), with the greatest skyline in the world as a backdrop - within walking distance of public transit and multiple things to do pre- and post-game? All while Amtrak ends up with a state-of-the-art maintenance yard?

That would be a home run (you all saw that coming, right?).

"I don't ever go to the park where I don't have a good day. I don't like losing. But I don't think I ever go to the park where I have a bad day. I don't think once.” - Bob Uecker