Rebuilding Rob

This past weekend marked my first visit to Guaranteed Rate Field, home of the Chicago White Sox. GRF is my 5th current MLB park and 9th overall.

Located on Chicago’s southside, the neighborhood gets something of a bad reputation. I understand, it’s nothing like the north side of the city, but being from Detroit, this particular portion of the southside was not bad at all.

As for the park itself, it originally opened in 1991, just two years after Toronto’s Skydome and one year before Baltimore’s Oriole Park at Camden Yards would revolutionize ballpark aesthetics in North America.

The facility itself was somewhat hastily assembled. It was only a late night, last minute decision by the city that kept the White Sox from moving to Saint Petersburg, Florida for the 1991 season. The configuration of the stadium seems to be somewhat indicative of that. When you first enter – at your pre-assigned gate, mind you – the 100 level, or the lower deck, seating is actually above ground level. You have to take en escalator immediately after entering the stadium in order to reach the lower deck.

I could say a lot about the fact that the stadium was built just before the era of the “retro ballparks” and became dated very quickly by Baltimore’s Oriole Park Camden Yards and other stadiums of it’s ilk.

To their credit, the club took on a massive seven-year renovation program from 2001 to 2008 in order to modernize the park. Although it wasn’t as big as the renovations to Angel Stadium I’m the 90s or Yankee Stadium in the 70s, it looks very different that it did in 1991.

I didn’t make my way upstairs, but I hate the fact that people in the 500 section cannot go down to the Lower level concourse

Speaking of concourses, I loved the area in the outfield! The main scoreboard is very impressive, and I’m happy to see that the Sox still maintain out of town score boards, as well as extra scoring data. The shower and the mist machines were a nice touch on a 90° day. 

The main scoreboard is as impressive as it looks on TV! I like the fan area directly in front of it. The statues it contains are a little bit basic. They look like something you might find on someone’s lawn. 

The infield concourses are just way too small, too short, too narrow. I can’t imagine how crowded they would get with the Park being anywhere near sold out. i like the decor – the art and the homages to the club’s long, colorful history.

Thanks for stopping by Rebuilding Rob. Be sure to like, comment and subscribe to my blog below. It’s greatly appreciated! Also, feel free to follow me on social media as well! Check out my most recent posts as well as some earlier, related posts:

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• Life is What Happens: A Look Back at My Non-Existent 2025 Vision
• The Moment I Walked Inside a Hallmark Movie

The article “Rob Reviews: Guaranteed Rate Field – Chicago, IL” first appeared on Rebuilding Rob.