CHICAGO | Wrigley Field Redevelopment News

[MegaBass]

Originally Posted by aaron38

The metal detectors are all gone. Are they seriously going to set them up and tear them down before/after every game?

As I mentioned above same was done at Chase Field and league-wide.

[LaSalle.St.Station]

I think Addison is the more important of the street closures due to the structural supports for the upper deck so close to the street. At least put an iron post median down that block on Addison that fronts the park and only allow traffic on the south side of street.

[emathias]

Originally Posted by LaSalle.St.Station

I think Addison is the more important of the street closures due to the structural supports for the upper deck so close to the street. At least put an iron post median down that block on Addison that fronts the park and only allow traffic on the south side of street.

Addison IS the south street. Are you talking about Waveland or Sheffield?

[Via Chicago]

Originally Posted by MegaBass

As I mentioned above same was done at Chase Field and league-wide.

that seems like a huge hassle, but i guess its better than a permanent eyesore

[brandon03]

Originally Posted by emathias

Addison IS the south street. Are you talking about Waveland or Sheffield?

I believe they meant the south side of Addison. So only EB traffic or maybe remove parking and have a single narrow lane in each direction. The sidewalk along the stadium is pitifully narrow there on game days.

[JK47]

Originally Posted by emathias

Shutting Addison and Clark to car traffic before/during/after games might be okay, although I'd like to see buses allowed to continue through. Without the cars to compete with they could go slow through there for pedestrians but still end up faster than a detour route.

Any time savings proceeding through the block will be wasted by the traffic snarls caused by the closures. Roads north and south of the stadium already aren't great during game days. As the Western/Belmont affair illustrated, shutting down (or severely limiting) a major arterial can overload adjacent arterials. Irving Park is already jammed up in the evening rush, let alone on game days, and Belmont is just impossible. Roscoe won't be passable and the balance of the East/West streets in the area of the stadium aren't designed to pass large volumes of traffic (indeed they're set up to discourage thru traffic).

One way to cut down on traffic would be to exclude Uber/Lyft within a certain radius of the park. I see their placards on just about every third or fourth car in the neighborhood nowadays.

[MayorOfChicago]

Went to the game last night. The metal detectors are everywhere, move very quickly and are just rolled out and plugged in. They just run them inside when not in use and I'm assuming store them inside the concourse.

The issue is they have to have the metal detectors at a decent distance from the stadium, as once inside people regroup and then stand in (a very small) line to get their tickets scanned.

As that is, it mean the metal detectors are probably 4-10 feet from the street in most cases. I know last night they had to really shove traffic aside because there's a huge crunch there of hundreds of people waiting for the metal detectors and are spilling out into the street which completely blocks anyone actually just wanting to make their way past the stadium.

I wasn't surprised when officials said they were talking about bumping the sidewalk out at Addison away from Wrigley and shrinking the footprint of Addison/Clark and that intersection.

As far as inside the stadium, we were on the 3rd base side. Same bathrooms, same HORRIBLE lines as always for the bathrooms. Same horrible lines for the concessions. Not sure if there were new concessions, it seems the same old mess in the concourse as it always was.

When are the concourses themselves supposed to be upgraded per the renderings on the Cubs site?

[MegaBass]

Originally Posted by MayorOfChicago

When are the concourses themselves supposed to be upgraded per the renderings on the Cubs site?

The 1060 Project timeline needs an update since a few things got bumped back

• The former clubhouse area will be redeveloped to include a new, larger dugout, two underground batting tunnels, an auditorium and additional office space for team officials.
• A new third base club for premium and Season Ticket Holders will be built adjacent to the batting tunnels so fans can get a view of Cubs players' practice swings prior to their at-bats.
  
• Phase Two plans also include the development of a home plate club for Season Ticket Holders.
  
• To enhance player safety, the home and visiting bullpens will be relocated from the field of play to an area underneath the expanded Budweiser Bleachers, and new seats will be added in the old bullpen areas.
  
• A new, 30,000-square-foot concessions preparation and staging area will be added below the plaza to ensure service levels are best in class and provide for the delivery of quality, fresh food to Cubs fans.
  
• The seats and most of the concrete from the left-field foul pole to the main gate under the marquee will all be replaced, and the third-base-side concourse will be completed. Plans include new concessions and bathrooms in the area.
  
• Phase Two also calls for enhancements to the right-field upper deck, including the development of a new outdoor concourse along the south and west roofline of the ballpark with additional concessions and bathrooms.

Phase Three
For Phase Three, much of the work will move to the first-base side. This will include a new umpires' room and an improved visitors' clubhouse, in addition to improvements to the first-base-side concourse to create a better experience for fans.

• Clark the Cub will get a brand new home on the first-base side, and there will be a first-base club space for Season Ticket Holders.
  
• Enhancements to the upper level on the left-field side will include a new outdoor concourse along the south and west roofline of the ballpark.
  
• By the conclusion of Phase Three, the goal is to have the majority of work in the main concourse completed.
  
• The Cubs will also add an upper level club for Season Ticket Holders and improve and expand the luxury suites. As an added bonus, suite-holders can now customize their space by choosing from several preset design options.

Phase Four
Phase Four will finish any remaining work in the main concourse along the first-base line and add a two-story retail and entertainment area in the right-field corner to replace the existing Captain Morgan Club.

Work will also be completed on the middle portion of the upper level. This will include a renovated press box, new seats, new concessions and new bathrooms.

Ricketts Family Development
By Phase Four, the Ricketts family's neighborhood development plan should also be completed. This will include an open-air plaza to be developed outside the ballpark for Cubs fans, visitors and families in the community year-round.

The development would incorporate an office building at the north end of the property to house Cubs offices, conference meeting space and retail shops. Finally, the Ricketts family's plan features a premium neighborhood boutique Starwood hotel across the street from the historic ballpark. This will include 180 rooms, retail and food and beverage options for fans and the community.

[MegaBass]

Situated between the left field foul pole and the stadium's large video board in left field will be a "Nuveen" sign, the primary asset in a new sponsorship deal the team signed last year with Chicago-based mutual fund manager Nuveen Investments.

It will be the third major ad sign to adorn the space beyond the bleachers at the Friendly Confines. The Cubs installed a 650-square-foot script "Budweiser" sign atop a new right field video board and a "Wintrust" sign atop a new left field video board at the beginning of the 2015 season.

Nuveen, which was sold in 2014 by Chicago private-equity group Madison Dearborn for $6.25 billion to New York-based asset manager TIAA-CREF, became one of the Cubs' top-tier "legacy partners" in a long-term deal that also included naming rights to the stadium's suite level.

The Cubs won approval from the Commission on Chicago Landmarks in 2014 to put up a total of six new outfield signs, including the two video boards.

That means the team still has three more outfield ad signs as part of an explosion of brand signage in and around the park that the team is putting in as it renovates the 102-year-old venue.

Those signs are expected to be located above the bleachers in right-center field and in foul territory beyond the left and right field foul poles. When those are installed, the signs will collectively take up about 56 percent of the entire outfield and will have at least 20 feet of open space between each of them.

The Nuveen sign, which will be 57 feet wide with letters that are nine feet high, will impede part of the view from the rooftop business at 1032 W. Waveland Ave.

The Ricketts family, which owns the team, bought that property for $1.65 million in January 2015 and also took over the building's rooftop business. That business is now branded under the family's collection of properties listed at WrigleyRooftops.com.

h/t Danny Ecker

[Via Chicago]

god thats fugly. and theres still going to be 3 more of these?

[nomarandlee]

Originally Posted by Via Chicago

god thats fugly. and theres still going to be 3 more of these?

The landmark commission and the powers that be made complete laughing stocks of themselves by folding like a cheap suit to the Ricketts for permitting this schlock.

[Busy Bee]

Because TORCO was so classy.

[JK47]

Originally Posted by nomarandlee

The landmark commission and the powers that be made complete laughing stocks of themselves by folding like a cheap suit to the Ricketts for permitting this schlock.

Well, according to the Ricketts, they can't afford to field a competitive team without these signs.

[LaSalle.St.Station]

Day baseball...crowd and vendor noize dominated along with organ interludes based
On the game's flow. Night games where dark and broody in the shadow enveloped stands

.Wrigley at night was dark and skeletal , just like the Eiffel tower and the loop el

Oh gohst of the past please don't be driven away by the screaming led displays and the minor league overloud schtick they pump in to pat the owner on the back. " no its not a museum anymore".

It was a simple recipe that teams borrowed, and started adding more seasoning and ingedien s to, and now we got it back. Very bright, very loud, they say the kids would love it if they can blow 500 a week on beer and tickets. Which only 1 in 20 could.

Thatgreatoldtimeyparknomore

[MegaBass]

Originally Posted by Busy Bee

Because TORCO was so classy.

Exactly the Rooftops have long history of advertising.

Torco sign dates all the way back to Bismarck Gardens and Atlas Special Beer before Torco, Southwest Airlines, and the Miller Brewing Company.



circa 1933 h/t PBS




Baby Ruth sign circa 1935 h/t wikipedia

Also remember in 2009, they blocked Horseshoe Casino sign (Budweiser building) that eventually led to the Toyota sign in left.



Cubs former home West Side Grounds was known for its free-standing billboard that ran above the length of the bleachers. The billboard frequently featured large ads for the sports pages and the sportswriters of local newspapers such as the Chicago Tribune and the Chicago Daily News.



h/t Bleed Cubbie Blue

[vexxed82]

My only beef with this sign (and the Wintrust & Budweiser signs) is the lack of any character to the frames. The renderings appeared to show some design similarities with the arches of the light stands and the new 'ironwork' outside of the ballpark.

[Busy Bee]

I disagree, I think that would have been a bit much "theme"... too much "theme" makes things start to feel like a "theme park"... get it?

[lu9]

I completely agree with Vexxed and I'm holding out hope the adjustment is made to the LF board once the outfield lights are installed next year. The hopes are likely unwarranted, I admit.

[Busy Bee]

Just remember there's a thin line between classy and cheezy.

[lu9]

^ not lost on me by any means. I just don't think what we're talking about is getting anywhere near that line.