U.S. Cellular Field, which is also known as "The Cell" is a baseball stadium in Chicago, Illinois. It is the home of the White Sox baseball team of the American League. The US Cellular Field has an interesting and inspiring history. It begins in 1988, when Jerry Reinsdorf, the chairman of the board of the Chicago White Sox, issued an ultimatum to Chicago: build the White Sox baseball team a new ballpark or the franchise would move to St. Petersburg, Florida. Thus, on May 7, 1989, ground was broken for the new stadium and park. It was the first new baseball-only stadium built in the American League since 1973. US Cellular Field was opened for the 1991 season, after the White Sox baseball team had spent 81 years at Comiskey Park. The new White Sox baseball field was completed at a cost of $167 million. Although it opened with the Comiskey Park name, it became U.S. Cellular Field in 2003 after U.S. Cellular bought the naming rights.
The US Cellular Field Chicago is located in Armour Square, which is a neighborhood of Chicago. Some of the design features from Comiskey Park were retained. These include the "exploding scoreboard", which lights up in color when a White Sox player hits a home run and the Sox Shower where fans can cool off during games. To avoid obstructed viewing of a White Sox baseball game, the upper deck at US Cellular Field Chicago was set back over the lower deck. The lowest row of seats in the upper deck at the new stadium is actually farther from the field than the highest row of seats in the upper deck at the old stadium was.
Instead of playing in one of baseball’s oldest parks, the White Sox now had one of the most high-tech stadiums in North America. The 1,300,000-square-foot US Cellular Field Chicago has 12 escalators, 11 elevators, three industrial-strength garbage compactors, a fireworks launching pad beyond center field, and six outdoor pet-check kennels. The retired uniform numbers of eight players are displayed at U.S. Cellular Field:
1. Nellie Fox
2. Harold Baines
3. Luke Appling
4. Minnie Minoso
5. Luis Aparicio
6. Ted Lyons
7. Billy Pierce
8. Carlton Fisk
A White Sox Baseball team Hall of Fame is located on the stadium’s main concourse, behind home plate. The US Cellular Field Chicago contains 84 luxury suites located on two levels, along with thousands of club seats on a mezzanine between the lower deck and upper deck. Additionally, there is a fan deck that is located in the bleachers where you can discover your pitching speed and cool off under a fountain.
With Chicago White Sox Charities, you can enjoy an exclusive behind-the-scenes tour of U.S. Cellular Field. These tours allow fans to visit the dugout, check out the field from a player's perspective, sit in the Press Box and view various ballpark entertainment areas. Proceeds from the Cellular Fields tours benefit Chicago White Sox Charities.
Even if you are not a White Sox baseball fan, the high-tech features of US Cellular Field Chicago make it well worth a visit.
