Ishbia's vision for Chicago White Sox stadium, Railyards development revealed

Justin Ishbia, a founding partner of Shore Capital Partners and owner-in-waiting of the Chicago White Sox, released more details about his proposal for a new ballpark-anchored development along the Chicago River. The development is called the Railyards, and it's set to be built on 80 acres of an existing Amtrak rail yard on the western edge of the river, just south of Roosevelt Road, according to Crain's. Ishbia's Railyards would include residential and commercial developments as far south as 18th Street, a Northwestern Medicine healthcare facility and a potential new home for the White Sox. The franchise's lease at Rate Field, which is publicly-owned, expires in 2029. While current plans show the stadium in the wider development, the new ballpark is far from a certain bet. Chairman and Chicago sports legend Jerry Reinsdorf still controls the team, and Ishbia won't be able to fully take control of the team until 2034. Reinsdorf's sell option begins the same year the White Sox's lease at Rate Field ends: 2029. Until this week, the idea that a ballpark could be built in Ishbia's development was just informed speculation. The announcement is his first public statement of vision for a potential White Sox ballpark at the site. The Amtrak 14th Street railyard where Ishbia is planning his development sits across the river from the 62-acre development called the 78, where Reinsdorf ultimately failed to snag public funds for a new ballpark. SIGN UP As Ishbia plans his new development, he's facing some pushback from residents in the Bridgeport neighborhood. As part of the deal for the Amtrak land to build the Railyards on, Amtrak is set to move their maintenance facility to Bridgeport. The community doesn't want the new, noisy maintenance facility, and it's even more miffed that it could lose the White Sox to the new development in a few years. — Hunter Cooke