White Sox to rename stadium Guaranteed Rate Field
No longer will Chicago White Sox fans enter "The Cell" at 35th and Shields.
The South Siders announced Wednesday that their home ballpark, U.S. Cellular Field, will be rechristened as Guaranteed Rate Field after the team reached a 13-year naming rights deal with the Chicago-based company. The name change will come into effect on Nov. 1 of this year.
Guaranteed Rate and the #WhiteSox announce new ballpark naming rights partnership for 'Guaranteed Rate Field': pic.twitter.com/n1hbdN70uL
— Chicago White Sox (@whitesox) August 24, 2016
"We view this partnership as an opportunity to connect a successful Chicago business with a historic baseball franchise, and we look forward to growing this important relationship over the coming years," White Sox chairman Jerry Reinsdorf said in a release Wednesday afternoon.
When the stadium officially takes on the new name it will mark the third name change since its opening in 1991. Originally known as New Comiskey Park for the first 11 years of its existence, the White Sox sold naming rights for the stadium to U.S. Cellular prior to the 2003 season.
Before moving to Guaranteed Rate Field, the White Sox played across the street at the original Comiskey Park for 80 consecutive seasons.