The Chicago White Sox are reportedly angling for $1 billion in public funds to finance the team's proposed stadium in Chicago's South Loop.
According to Crain's Chicago Business, Chicago White Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf is preparing to ask Gov. J.B. Pritzker and other state leaders for roughly $1 billion in public money to build the new stadium.
Reinsdorf and Curt Bailey, president of the Related Midwest real estate firm, will reportedly seek the public funds by making the long-disputed argument that the state's investment in a stadium will bring in billions more in private investment in the surrounding area.
The White Sox hope to claim the revenue from a preexisting 2 percent hotel tax and extend that tax decades beyond 2034 when the tax is scheduled to be cancelled after the Illinois Sports Facilities Authority has paid off a previous 2003 renovation of the Chicago Bears' Soldier Field.
Yahoo Sports reported that Reinsdorf would also like Illinois to create a tax-overlay district for The 78 property that would turn over the state's portion of sales taxes generated in the area, estimated to be around $400 million over an undisclosed period of time.
The project will also reportedly require $551 million in funds for infrastructure to support the stadium. That amount would be covered by Related Midwest upfront and later repaid by the city.
