New Comiskey


An elaborate facade marks the new Comiskey Park, by then called U.S. Cellular Field, Aug-2014.
The seating bowl, as seen from near the outfield batter’s eye.
The exploding scoreboard is about all that mimics the old park.
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Quick Facts: Rating: 2 baseballs

Home plate of old Comiskey Park is preserved in the parking lot.
Old Comiskey Park, originally known as White Sox Park when it was built in 1910, had clearly outlived its usefulness. Very few shed tears for the place when it was demolished at the end of the 1990 season.

The crying started the next year, when the new Comiskey opened. People complained right away about the seating. Even though there were no longer any obstructed views, the seats at the bottom of the upper deck here were farther away from the field than seats at the top of the upper deck in the old park.

The new facility, though, did meet fire codes, and it also provided better amenities for the fans, as well as preserving the “exploding scoreboard” introduced by Bill Veeck in the 1950s.

All in all, the park is seen as a design mistake, one which was corrected in more recently built facilities like Camden Yards.

In January 2003, the White Sox announced that U.S. Cellular had bought naming rights to the field. The fee would go toward ballpark improvements. That agreement has expired, and Guaranteed Rate, a mortgage company, now has its name on the park. That company dropped the ”Guaranteed” from its name in 2024, and the venue followed suit for 2025.

Getting to the Game

Ease of access has never been much of an issue for this park on the South Side. The Dan Ryan Expressway (I-94) runs right past the park, which is also served by the Chicago Transit Authority’s Red Line. CTA service continues until after 1 in the morning, so diehard fans need only worry about leaving early if the game is deep into extra innings. I used mass transit to attend my first two games here and have not had any problem with service. There is also ample parking, mostly paid, in the vicinity of the ballpark. In recent years, there have been reports of fast-buck artists insisting on collecting a cash fee on expressway exit ramps even before reaching the lots (which are cashless). Driver beware.

Watching the Game

As at Dodger Stadium, the policy here is to not allow spectators to occupy seating levels for which they are not ticketed. However, enforcement is lax, especially pre-game on evenings when relatively low attendance is expected. I was able to walk into the park 40 minutes before game time, holding an upper-deck ticket, and walk around the concourse without any issues. Be aware, though, that the policy may be enforced on a busy night.

The highest seats here are, indeed, as high as those at any in the majors, and there are some really steep climbs in the upper deck. Exiting the stadium can be a hassle, too, as the stairwells common at most modern parks do not exist and so the primary means of egress is through a series of long ramps.

Enjoying the Game

As at most major league parks, game presentation is proficient. A monochrome message board in left field seems almost like a throwback, but it provides much of the in-game information sought by the true fan. (By 2021, the main boards had all been upgraded to full color video.)

While the scoreboard doesn’t exactly explode, it does light up and fireworks are set off just to its left when a White Sox player hits a home run (right).

Game Date League Level Result
63 Sat 15-Aug-1992 American MLB NY Yankees 4, CHI WHITE SOX 2
1351 Tue 26-Aug-2014 Major MLB Cleveland 8, CHI WHITE SOX 6, 10 inn
1815 Sat 1-Jun-2019 Major MLB Cleveland 5, CHI WHITE SOX 2
2084 Sun 3-Oct-2021 Major MLB Detroit 5, CHI WHITE SOX 2
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This page updated 18-Dec-2024