U.S. Cellular Field Tickets

CHICAGO WHITE SOX: U.S. Cellular Field

The Chicago White Sox spent two years building U.S. Cellular Field (then known as New Comiskey Park) and have spent the last 15 years defending it.

U.S. Cellular Field was the last new ballpark built before the retro stadium explosion. It shares the same architects as Oriole Park at Camden Yards (HOK Sports) but upon its completion shared little of the character of Camden Yards. Fans who bought White Sox tickets were immediately dismayed by the steep nature of the upper deck; the first row of the upper deck is farther from home plate than the last row of the upper deck at Old Comiskey.

That disenchantment made White Sox tickets at U.S. Cellular Field a tough sell. So after years of struggling to fill the park, the Sox announced a five-part renovation plan. The phases:

Phase I (2001): New field-level seating added, outfield distances shortened, new restaurant added in the outfield.

Phase II (2002): Upgraded scoreboards and video boards, added party deck

Phase III (2003): LED boards added, entire park painted and stained, new center field video board

Phase IV (2004): Steep nature of upper deck addressed by removing eight rows and 6,600 seats from the upper deck; new flat roof replaced the old roof

Phase V (2005): New luxury seating area added behind home plate, kids play area added above the left field concourse, all blue seats replaced with forest green seats (ongoing).

The result is a much-improved U.S. Cellular Field from almost every perspective. The problem is that it will probably always be compared to Wrigley Field, the crosstown home of the Chicago Cubs, which continually rakes in tourists and fans eager to see a piece of baseball history. The White Sox realize U.S. Cellular Field isn’t a piece of history. But they’ve made continued efforts to make it a quality place to watch a game.

Capacity: 40,615

Year Built: 1991

2004 attendance: 24,437 per game; 1,930,537 total

Dimensions:330 to left, 377 to left-center, 400 to center, 372 to right-center, 335 to right

Hotels Nearby: If you’re a Chicago tourist, you probably don’t want to stay near U.S. Cellular Field. Instead, book a downtown hotel and take the CTA Red Line train to the Sox/35th stop.

Thrill of victory: Most of the attention for postseason futility goes to the crosstown Cubs, but World Series tickets haven’t been printed on the south side of town since 1917. Perhaps their best chance to end the drought recently came in 1994, when they led the division at the time the season was cut short by a work stoppage.

Agony of defeat: Oct. 12, 1993: U.S. Cellular Field has hosted just one American League Championship Series in its existence. Unfortunately, it wasn’t a very pleasant experience for the White Sox. The Toronto Blue Jays waltzed into Chicago and took the first two games of the 1993 ALCS in front of capacity crowds. The White Sox battled back, taking two out of three games in Toronto, but the Jays returned to Chicago and closed out the series on Oct. 12 with a 6-3 win behind the pitching of Dave Stewart.

White Sox Ticket Tips: Like many teams, the White Sox have gone to a scaled price system on their home schedule, with marquee games drawing higher face values. The highest price, with a category all their own, belongs to the crosstown Chicago Cubs, so you can expect to pay a premium price for their interleague battles. Other prices are fairly reasonable considering the metropolitan market. If you want the best White Sox tickets in the house, go for the newly installed Scout Seats, located right behind home plate with wider seats, in-seat food service, and several other upgraded amenities.