Big Ten Network Weighs Move From Chicago’s River North

The Big Ten Network is looking to switch studios nearly two decades after it first went on the air from a converted warehouse along the Chicago River.

The college sports broadcaster is exploring a move from 600 West Chicago Avenue, the 1.6 million-square-foot former Montgomery Ward complex, according to people familiar with the plans and first reported by CoStar.

The network, which leases about 58,000 square feet in the building, is weighing options of similar size at two high-profile downtown locations: Prudential Plaza, overlooking Millennium Park, and 350 North Orleans Street, near the Merchandise Mart. Savills broker Robert Sevim is representing the network in the search.

The Big Ten Network hasn’t commented publicly on its next move.

The network’s building recently changed hands. Arizona-based 3Edgewood, the real estate firm led by former Phoenix Suns owner Robert Sarver, bought 600 West Chicago earlier this year for just $89 million — a steep drop from its $510 million sale price in 2018. The firm is pitching upgrades like outdoor terraces, bars, and a rooftop deck to lure tenants amid rising vacancy.

Any relocation would mark a major shift for the Big Ten Network, which debuted in 2007 as the first college sports conference-owned TV channel, broadcasting football, basketball and dozens of Olympic sports from its Chicago studios. The network has since grown alongside the conference, which ballooned from 11 to 18 teams after recent expansions into the West Coast.

The two options reflect differing strategies in a struggling office market. The property at 350 North Orleans Street has been in receivership since Blackstone handed back the keys last year when its $310 million loan came due. Receiver Trigild and leasing agent Lincoln Property Company are seeking tenants as the building’s appraised value plummeted to $87.4 million from $489 million in 2018.

Prudential Plaza owner Wanxiang America Real Estate, on the other hand, recently negotiated a loan extension through 2027 — at 130 East Randolph Street and 180 North Stetson Avenue — pledging more than $50 million in upgrades, landing tenants including ComPsych, HOK, AECOM and Howard & Howard.

— Eric Weilbacher