By Jessica Noll
Special to Inside
On the South Side, Sox fans celebrate a World Series sweep. And here on the North Side begins a season of change for Cubs fans as well, as the baseball season comes to a close and Wrigley begins expansion on parking, dining and seating. Workers "sweep" up the debris as renovations get underway.
In the works for nearly four years, the expansion is funded by the Cubs themselves with no public funds, a rarity in pro sports. The Wrigley construction commenced directly following the 2005 Cubs baseball season and is expected to be completed by opening day of 2006, said Stephen Steim, Cubs publicist.
Wrigley, dubbed the Friendly Confines, will have 1,790 new seats added to the existing 39,538 seats, including new wheelchair-accessible seats in the bleachers.
More parking space, a restaurant in the centerfield and an open-air pedestrian parkway are also on their way, along with a new building which will replace the car wash on the west side of the ballpark. This multi-purpose building will include new batting cages and indoor pitching mounds for Cubs players.
"The new parking spaces respond to an issue we've heard consistently in our community," said Michael Lufrano, Cubs vice president of community affairs, in a press release. Cubs fan Jeremy Cook lives in Lake in the Hills, which is about an hour from Wrigleyville. When he wants to catch a game he has to drive and find parking near the field. "I think the expansion is a great idea—they definitely need a better parking arrangement," said Cook.
Fans and neighbors alike have their own concerns when it comes to the bigger spaces being made available for the Cubs game crowds.
More seats will bring more fans and pedestrians walking through Wrigleyville, which concerns Connie Jurczyk, president of Southport Neighbors. This neighborhood council has a neighborhood protection plan that the Cubs support, but Jurczyk said that the traffic and fan control could be better, especially with more fans coming next season. "Our neighbors get nothing out of this expansion but density," said Jurczyk.
To address the increased density of Cub fans, the expansion will also bring wider sidewalks on Clark St. with lighting outside the bleachers to give more safety to both residents and non-residents on game days and non-game days. "The addition of open space and green space around the ballpark will significantly improve the look of Wrigley Field from the outside," said Lufrano.
Alongside the expansion, the Cubs are installing a $400,000 traffic signal at Clark St. and Waveland Ave. to help with the traffic concerns in Wrigleyville.
With bigger crowds throughout the baseball season, some bar owners appreciate the expansion, while others don't see it as much of a change for their businesses.
"I don't think the expansion will affect our business at all. We just don't have room for any more people if they come," said Beth Murphy, owner of Murphy's Bleachers, a bar and grill across the street from the park.
Except for Boston's Fenway Park, Wrigley Field is the oldest ballpark. It was built in 1914 as Weeghman Park and has seen Ernie Bank's 500th homerun, Babe Ruth's "called shot" and numerous construction projects and expansions throughout the years.
"The stadium has been remodeled before and that's why it looks as good as it does today," said Andrew Bornhoft, student at DePaul University. "No one said that the way the stadium looks is the way it must look forever. If people want to see baseball played in that stadium for another 100 years it needs to be remodeled now and most likely again in the future." |
