Could the White Sox Be Heading to Nashville Down the Road?
Major League Baseball is the oldest professional sports league in the United States, and the cities represented by the Show all have storied histories tied to their ball clubs.
Fans need to remember that once upon a time, the Athletics were in Philadelphia, the Braves were in Boston, the Dodgers were in Brooklyn, and the Giants were in New York. As the American population demographics moved westward and southward during the latter part of the twentieth century, the game of baseball followed the movement of people. In addition, baseball was added in Canada, with franchises in the two biggest Canadian cities being awarded to Toronto and Montreal.
The Chicago White Sox are one of the original American League franchises, dating back to 1901. As an anchor team in the American League, the White Sox have never moved away from Chicago’s South Side, and there has been little discussion of relocating a team that is thoroughly Chicago in nature. However, as population demographics move outside of Major cities into new regions and markets, professional sports franchises continually have to be on the lookout for new opportunities to build a franchise into the fabric of a new market city.
Let’s face a bit of reality here in the fact that Chicago fans would never, ever tolerate the Bears or the Cubs moving out of the Windy City but only a few hardcore faithful (and there are those hardcore fans who live and breathe the South Side) would even notice if the White Sox one day packed up and moved to warmer/sunnier climates. The Baltimore Colts truly represented the city of Baltimore until one night, when the team was moved to Indianapolis, Indiana. Yet, few fans actually care about the team’s connection to Baltimore anymore. Will the White Sox face the same dilemma sooner rather than later?
Are the White Sox Heading Down South to Music Row?
That very question, White Sox fans, is what each of you should be asking at this point in time. Long-time Sox owner (and fan nemesis) Jerry Reinsdorf has begun the process of selling the South Side Sox to minority owner and private equity fund guru Justin Ishbia. Ishbia is already an investor in the Sox, and under the terms of the deal, he’ll gain full team control beginning in 2029 with absolute ownership by 2034. Jerry Reinsdorf repurchased the White Sox in 1981 and has only seen one World Series win (2005) during his ownership tenure, as the White Sox’s fortunes have largely waned over the past four decades. Even though the Sox broke their “curse” and won a World Series eleven years before the Cubs broke their 108-year-old World Series drought, the Cubbies remain the most popular MLB team in the Windy City and with baseball fans across America.
In case you’re scratching your head on why the White Sox may be moving, it should also be understood that the lease at Rate Field also ends at the end of the 2028 season. Unless a new stadium immediately starts sprouting up somewhere on the South Side ready for the 2029 season, the White Sox have no choice but to either negotiate a new lease deal or look for a new home. Enter Justin Ishbia, a private equity billionaire, as the new owner of the White Sox. In case you’re wondering if this guy knows anything about professional sports, Ishbia is co-owner, along with his brother, of the NBA Phoenix Suns and WNBA Phoenix Mercury, as well as a minority owner in the MLS Nashville SC.
There’s already a Major League Baseball franchise in the Valley of the Sun (Arizona Diamondbacks), so let’s look for a new city for the White Sox. Oh, Nashville is ready, willing, and available for an MLB team move. The city of Nashville has three professional sports teams in town (the Titans, Predators, and Nashville SC). With the prowess of Vanderbilt University’s baseball program in town, the sport of baseball is ripe for Nashville.
With population demographics continually shifting towards the West and South in the United States, Nashville remains a popular destination for the White Sox, and unfortunately, for the South Side faithful, a logical choice for this franchise as well. Maybe Justin Ishbia will be a baseball purist and fight to keep the Sox in Chicago; maybe Ishbia is more of a businessman and can see the value of a new yet storied franchise in Nashville.
This story is far from settled at this point, and White Sox fans will no doubt have something to say about the team’s ultimate destination.
Remember, however, the story of the Athletics in Oakland as the stadium drama caused this team to move to newer (but maybe not greener) pastures and even move into Triple-A Sacramento for the time being rather than watching the franchise rot in Oakland.
If White Sox fans can use some encouragement right now, just watch how the situation with the A’s unfolds because the Pale Hose could very well be the next MLB franchise on the move.
PHOTO: ABC7 Chicago/Facebook
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Categorized:White Sox