COMISKEY A STRANGER TO THE NEW STADIUM BOOM

     Though the $37M "New" Comiskey Park may have kept the White
Sox from "packing off" to St. Petersburg, Florida, Frederick
Klein of the WALL STREET JOURNAL writes, it's been "less than a
bonanza for its tenants and host city."  Critics point out that
the park lacks the "retro" charm of new stadiums in Baltimore and
Cleveland and those parks are located in lively downtown sites
while New Comiskey lies in a "nondescript area well south of
Chicago's central Loop."  White Sox Chair Jerry Reinsdorf: "Some
people like the `retro' look, but I think it's a fad.  Compare
our park to others in terms of accessibility, fan comfort and
safety or playing field fairness and I think we come out well."
Reinsdorf concedes, however, his first choice for a stadium sight
was suburban Addison, IL, but a referendum to permit construction
there was defeated (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 5/31).