U.S. Cellular Field

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U.S. Cellular Field (aka, "The Cell", formerly New Comiskey Park) is a Major League Baseball stadium in Chicago, Illinois. It is the home of the Chicago White Sox of the American League. The park opened for the 1991 season, after the White Sox had spent 81 years at Comiskey Park. The new park, completed at a cost of $167 million, also opened with the Comiskey Park name, but became U.S. Cellular Field in 2003 after U.S. Cellular bought the naming rights at $68 million over 20 years. It hosted the Major League Baseball All-Star Game that same year. A few sportscasters, though, continue to use the former name, New Comiskey.

The stadium is in the Armour Square neighborhood of the city, at 35th Street and the Dan Ryan Expressway, just east of the Bridgeport neighborhood. It was built in the parking lot of old Comiskey Park, which was torn down and became a parking lot for the current field. Few design features were retained except for the "exploding scoreboard," which lights up in color when a White Sox player hits a home run. 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.

The stadium was the last built before the recent wave of new 'retro' stadiums. The stadium has undergone numerous renovations since its opening in order to retrofit it to the current architectural trends. This has included building a multi-tiered concourse beyond center field, adjusting the field of play to create asymmetrical fences and the removal of the most distant seats at the top of the upper deck, topped by a roof supported by poles that obstructed the view of a few seats.

The stadium contains 84 luxury suites located on two levels, as well as thousands of club seats on a mezzanine between the lower deck and upper deck. There is also a fan deck in the bleachers where you can find your pitching speed and cool off under a fountain.

1 Renovations
2 External links

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Renovations

In 2001, extensive renovations were started to make the park more 'fan-friendly', and less sterile:

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Phase I (2001 season)

Three rows of seats were added along the field between the dugouts and the foul poles.
Bullpens were moved and replaced with additional bleachers.
Distances to the outfield wall were changed, most noticeably down the foul lines, where the bullpens and the Bullpen Sports Bar are now located.
Batter's eye in center field was redesigned.
Restaurant was added in the outfield.

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Phase II (2002 season)

Old backstop was replaced with a new one that allows foul balls to drop.
Improvements were made to the main and club level concourses.
Scoreboard and video boards were upgraded.
Party deck was added.

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Phase III (2003 season)

New center field video board and LED "ribbon" boards were added.
Outfield/Upper Deck Concourse upgrades were made.
Fan Deck in center field was added.
Ballpark was painted and stained.
Phase III renovations cost approximately $20 million.

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Phase IV (2004 season)

Upper Deck Seating Area - Eight rows and 6,600 seats were removed from the top of ballpark's upper deck.
A flat roof, elevated 20 feet above the seating area, has replaced the old roof.
Upper Deck Concourse was enclosed from the weather by a translucent wall.
Fan Deck in center field upgraded to feature tiered seating and standing room.
Lower Terrace balcony added to provide an additional party area and outdoor seating.
Phase IV renovations cost approximately $28 million.

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Phase V (2005 season)

314-seat "Scout" seating area directly behind home plate added.
FUNdamentals, an area for kids, was added above the left field concourse.
Green seats replaced the old blue seats in the Club level, bleachers and some scattered areas around home plate.

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