Bob Vila visits during construction of new Comiskey Park

Bob Vila tours the construction of new Comiskey Park. $35,000 model of stadium.

[@joeyorr7082]

I greatly appreciate this video, includes my grandfather Joe Orr. RIP grandpa 16 November 2023. Love you always!

[@donnix768]

I remember seeing the new and old comiskey parks sitting next to each other in late 1990 season when they new park was about done and the old one was still being used to finish the season. They missed the boat, they built the last of the concrete jungles that were so prevalent in the late 60s through the 80s. A year later in 1992 Baltimore would unveil Camden Yards and the game was changed forever. Old looking new ballparks were the future and the white sox struck out with an outdated behemoth that represented an era gone by. They have done renovations and it is presently a nice facility to see a game, but drastically measures had to be taken only a decade after it was completed in 1990.

[@carrsllccarrillo6507]

Agreed. I never understood why they went to blue seats at the new ballpark in the first place. It wasn't until 2006 they started to replace them with green ones which made it more appealing for those who remember ol' comiskey. The only two blue ones left are the ones that Paul Konerko and Scotty Pods hit homeruns into during the '05 World Series.

[@austindreyer2930]

Yeah, the only good thing about losing the real comisky park. Was the inspiration to the Ricketts family to save/upgrade Wrigley Field. Also they might've had a out mutiny from the Cubs Fanbase.

[@tt55899]

Those upper deck seats were ridiculously high up

[@JohnBasedowYoda]

“And not to turn our back on the charm of the old stadium.... “ missed that goal!

[@frankk.7761]

I got tickets to go sit in the upper deck. Once I went up there to sit in my seat I got a major anxiety attack because the seats were angled downward and straight up. It was scary as hell. I went to a worker in the ballpark and they accompanied me to a new seat in the lower level. I never brought a ticket to the upper deck ever since. No way.

[@LeeEdwards-vq6mj]

So they somehow built a subpar venue...DAMN!!!!

[@marblox9300]

Oh, boy, there goes the budget.

[@jcolem5576]

Everybody needs to remember that at that time, renovating the old parks was just not a thing. They hadn't yet come to the realization that these old parks could become as much of an attraction as the teams themselves. A tourist attraction. Having said that the renovations done at the Sox park have made it a much better place in recent years.

[@keyshawnscott12]

I agree but the Sox would always sell out if the original comesky was still up and running

[@mariocisneros911]

Sure it was done in universities but the ownership wanted the new park and the revenue. On my 1st attended game , I hated it. I sent them many letters with many ideas relating to the old Comiskey Park. Thankfully with probably many more fans commenting, they did remodel it .

[@youwereprettylasttimeisawy1227]

@@keyshawnscott12 yup and tickets would’ve been super expensive if they were good

[@vincedidiana5781]

Amazing how a new stadium can look so horrific.

[@marblox9300]

Here's Rich Tretheweys perspective on the new park.!!!

[@Da219StarWarsGuy]

That architect flat out sucked. How are the seats better if the front of the upper deck is further back than the back row of the upper deck in the old park. Didn't know what he was doing at all. They wound up dropping a bunch of money into the place 12 years later to make it decent. Should've just stuck with the old ballpark.

[@mcorivervsaf]

The old Comiskey Park was past its prime, and renovating it would be a massive waste of time and money. It had to go. As for the new ballpark, yes it was flawed, and the fans responded with complaints after Baltimore’s new ballpark opened up, but many steps were taken in order to make it a much nicer experience. It’s a lot easier to renovate a relatively new ballpark, than to fix up an older one that was constantly falling apart. Huge difference there. Some ballparks aren’t going to last forever. You have to replace older venues with new ones, that’s life for you.

[@Da219StarWarsGuy]

@@mcorivervsaf I have to respectively disagree here for 2 reasons. 1) Multiple stadiums that were really old have been renovated and people love them. Reinsdorf just didn't really fix anything after he bought the team because he wanted a new taxpayer funded stadium. They renovated Fenway, Notre Dame Stadium, Rose Bowl and a few others. Wrigley was a far more extensive renovation because it was basically a rebuilt seating bowl so they wouldn't worry about anything structural failing and at the same time they can run brand new utilities unlike at Fenway that has the same old plumbing and sewer lines in place. It worked out the best like that. No need for concrete from 1914 in there! 2) New Comiskey had a major flaw with the ramps a few years after it opened that they had to spend a bunch of money to fix prior to all the money they had to spend a few years later in that huge renovation. When you combine the cost of the new stadium+fixing the ramps+the huge multi phase renovation.... it would've been cheaper to renovate Old Comiskey and it would've had the title of oldest park in the MLB making it a tourist attraction. The moment it went down, Wrigley jumped ahead in town. Plus, it faced the skyline. Just knock the upper deck down as part of the renovation to open it up more.

[@mcorivervsaf]

@@Da219StarWarsGuyYou have to stop lumping ballparks together. Just because Fenway and Wrigley were able to get renovated, doesn’t mean that every other team’s ballpark can get the same treatment. Those two parks are the few exceptions. They can afford the expensive renovations, whereas most other teams cannot. Furthermore, Comiskey is not sitting upon prime real estate, like at Fenway or Wrigley. Did you see constant sellout crowds at Comiskey, like at Wrigley or Fenway? I don’t think so. That’s a major factor. Not enough revenues to justify renovating a crumbling relic, like Comiskey. Just as with Tiger Stadium in Detroit, Comiskey Park was falling apart, and that was BEFORE Reinsdorf owned the team. It had already turned into a dump, not just because of upkeep, but because of its age. Bottom line? Renovating Comiskey would be the equivalent of putting good into bad, it simply wasn’t worth the investment. They needed a new ballpark, otherwise the team would be moving to Tampa. Which would you prefer?

[@jonathanfrimerman8855]

Is this when the White Sox will play in the future?

[@jonathanfrimerman8855]

WHERE?

[@ughettapbacon]

And like most Vila projects it had to be rebuilt. I'm kidding, I'm just kidding.

[@19553129]

So you feel like your faking off the upper deck☹️

[@oscarwinner2034]

Last of the bland box stadiums.

[@BaseballPlayer0]

Old roof was better

[@joemccullough4246]

So much of what they said are blatant lies. Closer to the game?? Better seats?? Same outside color?? Lmao my ass. At least the current place looks a lot better aesthetically and is still a good place to see a game on the 100 level.

[@111highgh]

What the hell are you talking about?

[@MrDuds1984]

The new park never had any character insomuch they had to redo the upper deck. One of the main issues was it faced the wrong way facing southeast instead of northeast as was with the old park (same with Wrigley) to take advantage of the city skyline.

[@gmaneis]

Yes, years ago I read that the closest seat in the upper deck directly behind home plate is farther from the field than the farthest upper deck seat directly behind the plate at Old Comiskey. The posts at the old park were horrible, but you were much closer to the game. Also, yes, it's hard to see the white color of the old park in the new one.

[@marblox9300]

Yea, lets face the park away from the skyline into a jungle of bad housing projects. That's good thinking.

[@marblox9300]

Chicago always gets screwed - this park is as bad as New Soldier Field and United Center. Thank G-d they saved Wrigley.!!!