Rate Field (formerly Comiskey Park II, U.S. Cellular Field, and Guaranteed Rate Field) is a baseball stadium on the South Side of Chicago, Illinois. It is the home ballpark of the Chicago White Sox, one of the city's two Major League Baseball teams, and is owned by the state of Illinois through the Illinois Sports Facilities Authority. Built for $137 million, the park opened as Comiskey Park on April 18, 1991, taking its name from the original Comiskey Park, the team's home since 1910.
Rate Field sits just west of the Dan Ryan Expressway in Chicago's Armour Square neighborhood, next to the more famous neighborhood of Bridgeport. The stadium was built across 35th Street from the original Comiskey Park, which was demolished to make room for a parking lot. The location of Old Comiskey's home plate is indicated by a marble plaque on the sidewalk next to Rate Field, with the foul lines painted in the parking lot. The east-northeasterly spectator ramp across 35th Street was designed to echo the contour of the old first-base grandstand.
History
The stadium was the first major sporting facility built in Chicago since Chicago Stadium in 1929. It was the last MLB park built before the wave of new "retro-classic" ballparks in the 1990s and 2000s.
A few of the old Comiskey Park's design features were retained. The front facade has arched windows. The "exploding scoreboard" pays homage to the original, installed by Bill Veeck at the old park in 1960. The original field dimensions and seating configuration were similar to those of Royals Stadium (now Kauffman Stadium) in Kansas City, which had been the previous baseball-only park built in the majors, in 1973.
Opened on April 18, 1991, the park was initially criticized by many fans because of the height of the upper deck. The original architect, HOK Sport (now Populous), sought to eliminate the overhang problems present in many stadiums built since the 1970s by setting the upper deck back over the lower deck, with the stands rising fairly gradually. This gave nearly every seat in the upper level an unobstructed view of the field, but also created one of the highest upper decks in baseball. The first row of seats in the upper deck is as far from the field as the old stadium's highest row of seats. Fans sitting in this area did not get much chance for relief, as it was one of the few MLB parks that did not allow fans sitting in the upper deck to venture anywhere else in the park, such as the lower deck concourse. Moreover, the upper deck made the park look like a cookie-cutter stadium from the outside.
Since 2001, the team has altered the stadium in response to fan complaints: it added a multi-tiered concourse beyond center field, adjusted the fences to make the outfield less symmetrical, and, most significantly, removed 6,600 seats at the top of the upper deck.
The park's uppermost tier now has a white-and-black screen behind the top row of seats and is topped by a flat canopy roof supported by black steel-truss supports that obstruct the view from a few seats. The original blue seats were also replaced by forest-green seats. The new green-and-black color scheme, upper-level screen set back from the outer wall, and canopy roof are reminiscent of the old Comiskey Park and other classic stadiums. Murals, a prominent feature of the old stadium, were also added to the interior concourses.
The stadium has 103 luxury suites on two levels; the desire for these lucrative suites was one reason old Comiskey Park was replaced. It has 1,822 "club seats" on the 300-level mezzanine between the lower deck and upper deck. Patrons in the club seats are served by waitstaff and may visit an enclosed concourse with television viewing areas and bar-style concessions.
The stadium has 400 wheelchair-accessible seats, 38 public restrooms, 12 escalators, and 15 elevators.
Naming rights Originally called Comiskey Park, the stadium was renamed U.S. Cellular Field in 2003, after Chicago-based telecommunications company U.S. Cellular purchased the naming rights for 20 years for $68 million. U.S. Cellular later paid $13 million to end the agreement seven years early, saving an estimated $10.8 million.
The stadium's next name, Guaranteed Rate Field, was announced on October 31, 2016, after the Chicago-based private residential mortgage company Guaranteed Rate bought the naming rights in a 13-year deal. It was later revealed that Guaranteed Rate would pay $20.4 million over ten years for the 13-year agreement, an average payment of $2.04 million, less than U.S. Cellular's yearly payment of $3.4 million and below the average MLB naming rights payment of $3.6 million at the time of the deal's signing. In December 2024, the stadium's name was shortened to "Rate Field" after Guaranteed Rate rebranded.
Attractions and features
Flickering LED Lights: The White Sox use the flickering LED Lights feature whenever the team takes the field before the first pitch, hits a home run, or wins a game. The lights also flicker when the closer comes out of the bullpen. Fan Deck: The two-tiered Fan Deck atop the center field concession stands has a panoramic view of the field. Fan Deck includes catered food and beverage service, including chicken sandwiches, hot dogs, hamburgers, potato chips, popcorn, beer, soda, and water. Fan Deck accommodates around 150 people. Miller Lite Landing: A 326-seat section in right field that features running water fixtures on all four sides, individual seating, spaces for group parties and a standing room area where fans can interact near the outfield concourse. The first few rows have cushioned seats, device charging ports, and television screens. Craft Kave: A two-tiered, open-air section in right field next to the visitor's bullpen with food and drinks. Rain Rooms: A place where fans can cool off on hot days. Near section 107 & 537. Kids Zone: In left field, this area is devoted to young fans, giving them the opportunity to learn the fundamentals of baseball. It features a youth-sized wiffle ball diamond for coaching clinics, batting and pitching cages, batting "swing" boxes for proper batting techniques, and areas for base running and skills instruction. Speed Pitch Machines: Near section 155 and 522 Shower: A carry-over from old Comiskey Park where fans can cool off on hot days. Near Section 160. Wintrust Scout Seats: Directly behind home plate are 314 leather seats. Features include a restaurant buffet, open bar, open-air seating in padded, extra-wide 22" seats, private restrooms, flat-screen televisions throughout the club and seating area, a private elevator entrance behind home plate at Gate 4, and early admittance into the ballpark for select games to watch batting practice from the outfield. The Patio: Just behind the right center field fence at field level. The patio hosts group outings such as the Craft Kave and accommodates 50 to 700 people.
#SoxSocial Tap Room: The Tap Room is open to all guests with a game ticket until the last out of each game. It is accessible by the stairs outside Section 157. Pizza Pub: Fans can enjoy pizza straight out of the oven along with full bar options and a new seating area. Near Section 163. Xfinity Zone: Outside Section 109. Fans can order food and beverages and watch sports on the big screen. Scoreboard Shop: The Scoreboard Shop, formerly 47 Shop, offering souvenirs, hats and apparel from years past to today, is open on game days only. In front of the Fan Deck in the middle of Sections 101 and 164, directly under the HD video scoreboard. Home Plate Shop: The Home Plate Shop, offering a wide variety of White Sox merchandise, is open on game days only. Behind home plate on the 100 Level at Section 133. New Era Cap Corner: Baseball caps of all colors, styles and sizes in a wide variety of team logos, is open on game days only. On the 100 level at Section 157. Minnie Miñoso Sculpture: Behind Section 164. Carlton Fisk Sculpture: Behind Section 164. Charles Comiskey Sculpture: Behind Section 100. Luis Aparicio Sculpture: Behind Section 100. Nellie Fox Sculpture: Behind Section 100. Billy Pierce Sculpture: Behind Section 164. Harold Baines Sculpture: Behind Section 105. Frank Thomas Sculpture: Behind Section 160. Paul Konerko Sculpture: Behind Section 160. Mark Buehrle Statue: Behind Section 105. Jim Thome Plaque: On the center field fan deck. The plaque reads: "On June 4, 2008, Chicago White Sox slugger Jim Thome became the first player ever to hit a baseball onto the Fan Deck of U.S. Cellular Field as the Sox beat the Kansas City Royals. He duplicated the tape-measure feat on September 30, 2008 as the White Sox beat the Minnesota Twins, 1–0, in a one-game playoff to win the American League Central Division championship." The Two Blue Seats: The seats where Paul Konerko's grand slam (left field in section 159) and Scott Podsednik's game-winning home run (right center first row in section 101) that landed in game two of the 2005 World Series are the same original blue seats in use at that game. White Sox Champions Brick Plaza: At the main entrance (Gate 4). The plaza is dedicated to the 2005 World Series Champion White Sox and their fans. Each legacy brick is inscribed with a personalized message that has become part of a new baseball diamond-shaped plaza outside the main entrance to the ballpark. A life-sized white bronze and granite sculpture celebrating the 2005 championship stands at the center of the plaza, with a historical timeline of the franchise along the diamond's base paths. The statue weighs over 25 tons. Old Comiskey Park's home plate: Just north of the park by Gate 5 in Lot B. "ChiSox Bar and Grill": A multi-level restaurant and bar inside Gate 5. It has indoor and outdoor seating and a variety of food, drinks, and entertainment. Chicago White Sox Team Store: A Chicago White Sox merchandise store next to ChiSox Bar and Grill at Gate 5. An entrance on the 100 level at Section 145 allows visitors to enter the store and shop during the game. Pope Leo XIV seat: Section 140, Row 19, Seat 2, where a graphic installation is at the entrance of the section and the future pope's seat for Game 1 of the 2005 World Series is marked.
Renovations and additions
1996–1999 1996 – A bullpen bar was added in right field. 1998 – The batter's eye was painted from blue to black. 1999 – A new Bill Veeck-esque showerhead in left field and a "Rain Room" in right field for fans to cool off during hot summertime games.
2001–2007 In 2001, extensive renovations were started by HKS Sports & Entertainment Group to make the park more fan-friendly:
Phase I (2001 season) Three rows of nearly 2,000 seats were added along the field between the dugouts and the foul poles. Bullpens were moved to allow fans to see pitchers warming up; former bullpens filled with new seats. Two-tiered terrace seating area added outside the Bullpen Sports Bar. Distances to the outfield wall were changed, most noticeably down the foul lines, where the bullpens and the Bullpen Sports Bar are now located. Outfield seating area extended to the fence. A full-service restaurant dubbed the Stadium Club was introduced with windows overlooking the right field corner. Capacity was increased from 44,321 to 45,936.
Phase II (2002 season)
Old backstop with netted roof was replaced with a new "roofless" backstop which allows foul balls to drop into seats directly behind home plate. Multi-tiered batter's eye built in center field. Main concourse upgraded with brick facade, stainless steel counter tops and decorative lighting. Club-level concourse enclosed and carpeted with heating, air conditioning and comfortable seating areas throughout. Party deck was added in center field, just below the scoreboard and above the batter's eye.
Phase III (2003 season)
Scoreboard and video boards were upgraded. Full-color, high resolution 28 × video screen added to center field scoreboard.