CHGO Digest: Cubs looking to 2025, Blackhawks & Bulls announce 'The 1901 Project'

Good morning, friends!

It’s over.

Finishing the 1st half winning 8 out of the last 11 made it seem like the Cubs might be turning a corner. Starting the 2nd half of the season strong was still a necessity, but at least they were playing good ball.

Instead, nine runs scored in six games. The pitching staff surrendered three runs or less in five of those six games.

Two wins.

— Patrick Norton

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Cubs, White Sox in control of trade deadline

By the end of the weekend, Garrett Crochet and Jameson Taillon could be pitching for contenders. Next Tuesday’s trade deadline runs through Chicago but for all the wrong reasons.

The White Sox don’t need to trade Crochet, and if they don’t get an offer they adore, they can afford to hold onto him.

Meanwhile, Cubs general manager Jed Hoyer said on Monday, “We probably won’t do a lot of moves that only help us for this year. If moves help us for 2025 and beyond, I think we’re exceptionally well-positioned.”

• Crochet still has two years of team control beyond 2024. However, the White Sox have to weigh whether they’ll be in a competitive window before the end of 2026 and if Crochet’s value will ever be higher. Regardless, don’t expect the left-hander to make his next scheduled start on Sunday, 53 hours from the deadline.
  
• Taillon is a little different. Even though the Cubs’ right-hander has two more years under contract, he’s 32 years old. But can the Cubs afford to ship out a reliable rotation piece when the expectation is to compete next season?
  

🔎 GO DEEPER | CHGO’s Ryan Herrera’s latest on how the Cubs’ clubhouse is gearing up for the deadline as it rapidly approaches.

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Join us for a Crosstown Takeover!

Join the CHGO White Sox crew along with other South Siders at our next baseball takeover! Meet the team at Turtles before the game and sit with us inside Guaranteed Rate Field for the action!

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Blackhawks, Bulls ownership introduce The 1901 Project

The United Center could be getting an overhaul. On Tuesday, the United Center Joint Venture, made up of the Wirtz and Reindorf families, announced The 1901 Project. The project would replace the United Center’s parking lots with an entertainment district.

Renderings of the completed project include a vast presence of green space, mixed-income housing, and a 6,000-seat music hall. The plans could also include retail space and a hotel.

The project, which gets its name from the United Center’s street address — 1901 W. Madison St. — would cost nearly $7 billion and 10 years to complete, but United Center Joint Venture has not asked for public funding to this point.

• But what about the parking? Great question. The plan includes a parking facility, but the details of the structure and how many spaces it could accommodate is currently unknown.
  
• Bulls COO Michael Reinsdorf said of the project, “We’re not building an entertainment district. We’re transforming this neighborhood. There’s a lot of teams throughout the country that build their entertainment districts. But this is so much more.” Call it what you’d like, but a music hall, retail space, large park, and room for a hotel sounds a lot like an entertainment district.
  

🎧 LISTEN | The CHGO Blackhawks Podcast reacts to the renderings and announcement of The 1901 Project.

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Roundup: Oilers hire Bowman, pads on at Halas Hall tomorrow

• The Oilers announced on Wednesday the hiring of ex-Blackhawks GM & VP Stan Bowman to fulfill the same role in Edmonton. Bowman, along with Joel Quenneville and Al MacIsaac were banned by the NHL in 2021 for what the league called an “inadequate response” to allegations by a player of sexual misconduct against a coach in 2010 with the Blackhawks. They were reinstated on July 1.
  
• Pads go on at Halas Hall tomorrow! CHGO’s Adam Hoge likened the first week of training camp without pads to “extension of OTAs” in his Bears Things newsletter — only available to CHGO Diehards. Come Friday, no more sped-up walkthroughs. It’s the real deal.
  

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That’s our guy! TE1!

Guess who’s rocking the CHGO merch at Wrigley Field? 👀 pic.twitter.com/ZH1s4Uzput

— Ryan Herrera (@ryan_a_herrera) July 24, 2024

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Join us for an upcoming CHGO event!

⚾ 7/26: CHGO Cubs Watch Party at Miller’s Ale House!
⛳ 8/23: Kickoff Classic Golf Tournament at Cog Hill!
⚾ 9/6: CHGO Cubs Takeover for Anthony Rizzo’s return to Wrigley!
🏈 9/8: CHGO Bears Tailgate in Chicago! – Week 1 vs. Titans