The Chicago White Sox may be considered the second team in the Second City, but one thing has always been true on the South Side. If you build a winning team on the field, fans will come.
For years, Rate Field was mocked by their North Side counterparts for its sea of empty seats. This season, that narrative is dead.
At the All-Star break, Major League Baseball attendance was up 1.1% year over year, and few teams have contributed more to that increase than the White Sox, who rank second in the majors in attendance growth behind only the Tampa Bay Rays. According to Sports Business Journal, the White Sox have seen a 36.5% increase in first-half attendance.
The jump has become even more noticeable over the past six weeks. Over the White Sox’s last 21 home games, the club has averaged more than 21,000 fans, including six sellouts. That stretch has raised the team’s season average to 23,137 after drawing just 17,605 fans per game over its first 21 home dates.
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For perspective, the White Sox averaged just 17,848 fans per game over the entire 2025 season. In less than a year, they’ve gone from struggling to attract crowds to becoming one of baseball’s biggest attendance success stories.
That isn’t a coincidence.
Winning has always been the biggest draw on the South Side. During last season’s third consecutive 100-loss campaign, the White Sox didn’t surpass 1 million tickets sold until their 57th home game. This season, while battling for the American League Central crown, they surpassed 1 million in just their 44th home game.
A True Home Field Advantage
The increase in attendance has done more than improve the optics around Rate Field. It has helped create one of the best home-field advantages in baseball.
The White Sox are 31-17 at home this season after winning just 33 games at Rate Field all of last year. While an improved lineup and player development deserve much of the credit, the players have repeatedly pointed to the atmosphere as another reason for their success.
Following an 8-2 victory over the Dodgers on June 13, second baseman Chase Meidroth credited the fans for the energy they have brought back to the ballpark.
“It’s all about the fans. Their support every single day is incredible. Coming back to this atmosphere is thrilling. We truly enjoy playing at home; the energy here is unmatched,” Meidroth told reporters.
Manager Will Venable echoed those comments.
“It was an extraordinary experience. The atmosphere was electric, starting with the fans. It was clearly a fantastic environment to play in,” Venable said. “They showed their support, and our players responded wonderfully.”
While the Dodgers naturally brought larger crowds to Rate Field, Davis Martin said earlier in the month that the White Sox thrive whenever the ballpark is full.
“When [Rate] Field has 38,000 people, it’s a hard place to play,” Martin said. “On the road, it’s a different experience. At home, the energy from the crowd is something we thrive on.”
There is something to be said for that. Young teams often feed off emotion, and the White Sox have looked like a different club at home than they did a year ago. Sellout crowds have given meaningful games in July the type of atmosphere the franchise hasn’t consistently experienced in years.
An Unexpected Catch
But the attendance surge may also have financial implications for White Sox chairman Jerry Reinsdorf.
When the White Sox secured public financing for their new stadium in 1991 after Reinsdorf threatened to move the franchise to St. Petersburg, Florida, he landed one of the most team-friendly stadium leases in professional sports.
Under the current agreement with the Illinois Sports Facilities Authority, which owns Rate Field, the city of Chicago and the state of Illinois contribute $5 million annually toward the stadium. The White Sox pay just $1.5 million in annual rent while controlling revenue from tickets, concessions, parking and merchandise.
The lease also contains an attendance clause. According to a previous Chicago Tribune report, the White Sox are required to pay an additional fee on every ticket sold beyond 1.93 million in paid attendance, a threshold they have reached just once over the past decade, in 2022. During the first 10 years of the lease, the club didn’t have to pay any rent at all if annual attendance fell below 1.5 million.
For years, that provision largely benefited the White Sox as attendance dwindled. Now, ironically, one of baseball’s biggest attendance rebounds could end up costing ownership a little more money.
That money will likely be a drop in the bucket for Reinsdorf, considering that the White Sox are also emerging as one of the best local television success stories this season. At the All-Star break, the White Sox saw the largest regional viewership gains after adding over 18,000 TV homes.
The added fee is a good problem to have. After years of empty seats, apathy and losing baseball, the White Sox have reminded everyone of something that has long been true on the South Side. Fans were never the problem. Give them a competitive team, meaningful games and a reason to believe, and they’ll fill the ballpark.
