Bridgeport residents protest White Sox relocation and Amtrak facility plan

Residents and elected officials in Chicago’s Bridgeport neighborhood are protesting a proposed development plan that would relocate the Chicago White Sox to the South Loop and move an Amtrak maintenance facility into Bridgeport.

Canal Edge LLC, a company led by future White Sox owner Justin Ishbia, has proposed ‘The Railyards,’ a mixed-use development and new stadium site in the South Loop. This plan would essentially swap locations with Amtrak, moving the rail maintenance operations to a 47-acre site west of the current Guaranteed Rate Field.

Local Alderman Nicole Lee expressed concern that the move would be ‘devastating’ for the community, noting that a 24-hour maintenance facility is unsuitable for a residential area. Residents at a recent protest demanded a full environmental review, arguing that the combination of an empty stadium and a constant rail yard would harm the neighborhood.

Amtrak has received a federal ‘categorical exclusion’ for the project, which is expected to begin this fall, allowing it to proceed without a full environmental impact statement. While the new stadium would be privately financed, the proposal includes requests for public funding for local infrastructure, such as roads, bridges, and a potential Metra station.