![]() ![]() When it opened in 1991, the ballpark originally entitled New Comiskey Park was hardly a jaw-dropper from an aesthetic perspective, appearing dignified with modest neo-classicism and touches of the Old Comiskey across the street-most notably with its arched openings. So Guaranteed Rate Field must be a pretty special place to warrant its exclusivity amid a big chunk of Chicago real estate, yes? Not exactly. The closer you live to it, the more palpable that sense becomes. It’s almost as if Guaranteed Rate Field doesn’t dare want you to approach unless you’re coming to watch baseball upon its grounds. The neighborhood? It’s stiff-armed by the ballpark, cordoned off to the west by railroad tracks, to the east by not one but two Interstate freeways (seriously-the 90 and 94 run side-by-side in the same corridor) and to the north and south by ground-level parking lots that extend nearly a mile. The only adjacent residence is an old folks’ hi-rise behind center field, but no one’s putting bleachers upon the rooftop lest knothole fans want a nice view of the backside of the big exploding scoreboard and its giant, surrounding ad panels. The only restaurant/pub within shouting distance is ChiSox Bar & Grill, co-owned by the White Sox themselves and part of a larger structure that includes spectator ramps and a skywalk to get fans across 35th Street to the ballpark. On the flip side of the agenda and the south side of town, those same visitors likely think little of including Guaranteed Rate Field on the itinerary-unless they’re diehard White Sox fans. Not so much to watch a baseball game, but to be part of an experience, part of a neighborhood that embraces the ballpark and vice versa with its pubs and restaurants right across the street and residences that welcome you to watch the game from their rooftops. When sports-minded tourists visit Chicago, they tend to beeline it to Wrigley Field.
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