Results tagged ‘ Wrigley Field ’
4/11 Sing along
Looking ahead to the rest of the Cubs’ homestand, the cast from Second City will sing “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” on Friday. On Saturday, American Idol winner Phillip Phillips will sing the seventh inning stretch and actress Julia Sweeney will do so Sunday. John C. McGinley, who is part of the new Jackie Robinson movie, “42,” will do the honors on Tuesday, and NIU football coach Rod Carey will sing Wednesday. New Northwestern basketball coach Chris Collins will lead the seventh inning stretch on April 18.
– Carrie Muskat
4/8 Wrigley talks continue
It was Opening Day at Wrigley Field on Monday, and may be the last one before the Cubs begin a $300 million renovation plan at the ballpark. The Cubs are still waiting for approval from the city regarding changes they want to make, and negotiations are ongoing. Cubs chairman Tom Ricketts said Monday they are moving forward but wouldn’t set a deadline for a decision.
“I’m not going to put a timeframe around it because there’s a public part of the process that has to happen,” Ricketts said. “We look forward to getting the public part of the process started.”
There will apparently be public hearings regarding some of the issues, such as parking in the Wrigleyville neighborhood. Ricketts said he wasn’t sure what the objections were, but said they are “sensitive to things that affect the neighbors, we want to be responsive to issues the neighbors have.”
The Cubs also want more flexibility in terms of scheduling their games. There’s a long list of items to be finalized before work can begin.
“I’m optimistic,” Ricketts said. “I think everything is headed in the right direction. … We’re working under the assumption that everyone is working toward getting this done as soon as possible and moving forward.”
– Carrie Muskat
4/7 There’s no place like home
The Cubs play their home opener Monday when they entertain the Brewers. This could be the last home opener before Wrigley Field goes through its million dollar makeover.
The Cubs have outlined a five-year, $300 million renovation plan expected to begin after this season.
“It’ll turn into, obviously, one of the top venues in the league to play,” Cubs manager Dale Sveum said of the ballpark, which turns 100 years old next year. “Us, getting a new clubhouse and the batting cages and a new dugout and, if the jumbotron [scoreboard] does come into play, now you’re turning this place into an unbelievable place to go to work every day for all of us.”
The Cubs will finally be able to “keep up with the Joneses,” Sveum said. All of the National League Central teams have gotten new stadiums in the last 12 years.
The work was supposed to begin with the home clubhouse and batting cages.
“As far as the last conversation I had a few months ago, it was going to be ready for Opening Day next year,” Sveum said. “To start digging that much, hopefully there’s nothing in the way, because I think they probably have to work 24/7 to get it done by Opening Day [2014] once the last pitch is thrown this year.”
Are there any aspects of Wrigley that he’ll miss?
“The clubhouse? The batting cages? No, I don’t think anybody can say they’ll miss any of that,” Sveum said.
Still to be determined is whether the Cubs can play more than 30 night games.
“You don’t want to lose that aura about what we have at Wrigley, playing the day games,” Sveum said. “When we get back off road games and things like that, it comes in handy to have a night game.”
– Carrie Muskat
4/5 Wrigley plan
The Cubs and Chicago city officials are expected to finalize an agreement that will allow the team to proceed with its renovation plan of Wrigley Field. The Chicago Sun-Times reported the deal will include a video scoreboard in left field and more signage in the ballpark that could “minimally” impact a few of the rooftop owners. The Cubs also were expected to add more game-day security and build a new parking facility. Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel will reportedly remove the limit on night games, currently set at 30 a year, and allow “40 or more,” according to the report. The Cubs also would be able to have some 3:05 p.m. CT starts. Details on the deal were being finalized.
– Carrie Muskat
4/2 Wrigley update
Can the Cubs install a video scoreboard inside Wrigley Field? That appears to be one of the sticking points in negotiations between the team, city officials and the Wrigleyville rooftop owners. Officials with the Cubs, the city of Chicago and the Wrigleyville neighborhood were expected to continue talks on Tuesday regarding the team’s proposed $300 million renovation plan of Wrigley Field.
Cubs chairman Tom Ricketts had set Opening Day as a deadline but no resolution was reached. Mike Lufrano, Cubs executive vice president of community affairs and legal counsel, met Monday at Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s city hall office along with top mayoral aide Matt Hynes and Wrigleyville Ald. Tom Tunney of the 44th Ward.
Part of the Cubs’ plan includes installing a 6,000-square foot video screen inside the ballpark. Rooftop club owners want to preserve their views and feel the screen would block them. According to reports, the rooftop owners are willing to put signs on their buildings and let the Ricketts keep the revenue, and they want to extend their agreement with the Cubs.
“There’s good progress made to both to allow the Cubs owners to make the investments they need in the stadium,” Emanuel said during a news conference in Chicago, “and there’s good progress also to make sure the community around Wrigley … sees the type of parking and security they need for games to also enjoy the community.”
– Carrie Muskat
4/1 Wrigley renovations
The Cubs want to start the five-year renovation plan of Wrigley Field this offseason, but they are waiting for the city of Chicago to give them the go-ahead. Theo Epstein, Cubs president of baseball operations, said he hoped to have an update later on negotiations Monday in Chicago. The renovations are important.
“I think it’s fundamentally important to get us to the next level as an organization,” Epstein said. “We have a baseball plan and a business plan and they’re timed to sync up with one another — they’re interdependent. If we don’t get our Wrigley renovation done in a timely manner and done in the right way, then we can’t accomplish our business objectives and it will certainly get in the way of us ultimately accomplishing our baseball objectives. It’s very important.”
Among the changes the Cubs want are the ability to play more night games, to install more advertising in the ballpark, to block off Sheffield Avenue for fans. Cubs chairman Tom Ricketts wanted a decision by Monday.
– Carrie Muskat
3/13 Cubs look for resolution re: Wrigley
On Wednesday, Cubs chairman Tom Ricketts and other team officials took the media on a tour of the new Spring Training facility, which will be up and running in 2014. In May, the Cubs will unveil a new academy in the Dominican Republic. The last hurdle is the $300 million renovation plan for Wrigley Field, projected to take five years. However, Ricketts and the city of Chicago are still trying to resolve some matters.
“There’s a handful of issues left and we’re working them out with the alderman and working them out with [Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel],” Ricketts said. “If we’re going to be in the ground in October, we have to get some resolution in the next few weeks.”
The Wrigley Field plan will be done in stages, and the hope was to begin after the 2013 season.
“It’s an incredible project for the city [of Chicago] in terms of the number of jobs we create — the 2,100 jobs we create — the hundreds of millions of dollars in economic activity, the tax dollars created, and of course, just the general economic activity that comes with tourist coming to Wrigley,” Ricketts said. “The incentives are there. I think we’ll get there.”
Ricketts, who unveiled the renovation plan at the Cubs Convention in January, met recently with Emanuel to go over some of the issues. Among the items on the Cubs’ wish list is to add advertising in the ballpark and increase the number of night games. The hope is to have all matters resolved by Opening Day, April 1.
“Before we green light the project, we want to know what the deal is,” Ricketts said. “What we said in January was that we’ll pay for the project, but we also need to have control of our ballpark and that’s still our position.”
– Carrie Muskat
2/27 Single-game tix on sale March 8
The Cubs today announced details for purchasing single game tickets. They will go on sale at the Wrigley Field ticket office on March 8 at 8 a.m. CST, two hours before online and phone sales begin. This year marks the last time there will be a two-hour on-sale event at Wrigley Field. Fans interested in purchasing tickets in person at the Wrigley Field ticket office on March 8 before 10 a.m. must participate in a mandatory wristband procedure.
Following the ticket office on-sale event, single game tickets go on sale at 10 a.m. CST at Cubs.com or 800-THE-CUBS (800-843-2827).
Fans may participate in the MasterCard Pre-Sale prior to the general on-sale date. Starting March 6 at noon CST, single game tickets will be available at Cubs.com for a 20 percent premium, or a 15 percent premium for fans using a MasterCard.
“Cubs fans will once again have a variety of options to secure their must-have tickets for the upcoming season,” said Colin Faulkner, vice president of sales and partnerships, Chicago Cubs. “We encourage fans looking for advance selection and no online service fees to attend our final two-hour on-sale event at Wrigley Field. Given our planned restoration schedule at Wrigley Field and fans’ increased use of online ticket purchasing, we don’t anticipate offering this advance in-person purchase opportunity moving forward.”
2/6 Wildcats and Cubs
In case you missed it, Northwestern and the Cubs have announced a partnership that will showcase the Wildcats athletic programs at Wrigley Field. As part of the partnership, Wrigley will potentially serve as a home venue for many of Northwestern’s 19 varsity programs over the coming years. Two sports programs have tentatively set dates: On April 20, Northwestern baseball will host the Michigan Wolverines in a Big Ten matchup. In 2014, the Wildcats women’s lacrosse team, winner of seven of the last eight NCAA championships, will play regional rival Notre Dame.
The dates for the five Wildcats football games are pending because of scheduling of the Wrigley restoration project. Details on other game dates, opponents and ticket information for all Northwestern athletic events at Wrigley Field will be provided later.
– Carrie Muskat
2/6 Are you creative? Like Wrigley? Start drawing
The Cubs are asking fans to submit designs to celebrate Wrigley Field’s 100th birthday. You can enter the “Wrigley Field Turns 100 Logo Contest” — and the winning logo will be used during the year-long festivities in 2014. It could even be featured on the Cubs’ uniforms.
The winning designer and a guest will receive a flight and accommodations in Chicago (if applicable) to be honored during a logo unveiling event before a late-summer home game at Wrigley Field. The winner will receive two tickets to the game, as well as a personalized 2014 jersey.
Start doodling now. Participants can upload an original, creative design for a logo by Feb. 28 at 11:59 p.m. CT. A group of finalists will be posted to Cubs.com for fan voting in April. The final design will be unveiled at a Cubs home game later this year. Submissions must be in .jpg, .gif or .png file formats, not exceed two megabytes in size. Official rules, an upload form and examples of entries are available at http://www.cubs.com/logocontest.
Good luck.
– Carrie Muskat
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