The city of Nashville, Tennessee has plenty of attractions, namely a booming music scene in addition to both NFL and college football. However, rumors have been circulating that the Chicago White Sox have looking to entrench themselves as another cultural mainstay in Music City.
White Sox chairman Jerry Reinsdorf met with Nashville Mayor Freddie O'Connell during the MLB winter meetings in December, fueling speculation about a potential relocation for the franchise. Will the team pull the trigger and make the move, or is it all smoke and mirrors?
The White Sox don't appear to be moving to Nashville anytime soon
The White Sox make sense as a potential candidate to move, as they live in the shadow of their cross-town rival Cubs. A move to Nashville could potentially help revitalize their brand and increase their value. However, the idea doesn't have any real legs, via USA Today columnist Bob Nightengale.
“The silliest rumor circulating in Chicago is that the White Sox are pondering a move to Nashville,” Nightengale said.”A future MLB team in Nashville will likely be an expansion team.”
Nightengale's statement is backed up by other sources. The team's priority is actually to build a new stadium in Chicago, via Brian J. Rogal of the Chicago Tribune.
“In February, the White Sox and developer Related Midwest unveiled the design for a new stadium at The 78, a 62-acre planned development southeast of downtown along the Chicago River,” said Rogal. “The pair have held talks about the plan with officials from the Illinois Sports Facilities Authority, which owns Guaranteed Rate Field, the Sox’s current home in Bridgeport, completed in 1991.”
With Guaranteed Rate Field now being 34 years old, it makes sense that the club wants to update its home grounds. However, these plans remain murky, as the budget of the hypothetical new ballpark is still unknown. For reference, Globe Life Field, the Texas Rangers' new stadium, cost over $1 billion to build.
The White Sox technically have a few more years to decide their plans, as their current stadium lease runs out in 2029.
“I’ve been reading about (how) I’ve been threatening to move to Nashville,” Reinsdorf said. “That article didn’t come from me. But it’s obvious, if we have six years left, I think that’s what it is, we’ve got to decide what’s the future going to be. We’ll get to it, but I never threatened to move out.”
With the team's uncertain future and recent struggles, the White Sox faithful haven't had much to be excited about. Vegas didn't predict them to improve much on their 61-101 campaign last year, as they'd set the team's preseason over/under at 63.5 wins.
Whether or not the White Sox move, the franchise's first priority should be to win games. It may be stating the obvious, but the Oakland Athletics might've never had to move to Las Vegas if they hadn't been the worst team in baseball. Constant losing causes declining ticket sales and brand value. If the White Sox are able to properly execute their rebuild, they may be able to re-up their lease at their current stadium, make some renovations, and call it a day.
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