"This
gathering place will be completed next year and will be a welcome
addition to the city and neighborhood. Think Cubdom as we are still in
it for game 6."
Last month, Bruce Frystak
won the location by guessing "the new plaza just outside of Wrigley
Field". Bruce attended game 2 of the NLCS and brought home an L. He
was not allowed to go to any more playoff games...but he did get to see
this plaza under construction and it looks like it will be a wonderful
upgrade for Wrigleyville.
The
1060 Project, which started at the conclusion of the 2014 baseball
season, includes structural upgrades, improved player facilities, new
fan amenities, outfield signage, including two video boards, new premier
clubs, expanded concessions, new and improved restroom facilities, and
much more.
Great ballpark tradition
The
restoration and expansion will ensure Wrigley Field remains the most
treasured ballpark in America. Open concourses, expanded concession and
dining options and better restroom facilities will appeal to fans,
reduce lines and ensure fans can enjoy more baseball from their seats.
Replaced and renovated concrete and steel, new roofs and other
structural repairs will keep the Friendly Confines alive and thriving
for another generation.
Great baseball tradition
From
Tinker, Evers and Chance, to Phil Cavarretta, to Anthony Rizzo and Kris
Bryant, the Chicago Cubs have enjoyed a great tradition of baseball
talent. Developing a winning tradition includes having best-in-class
facilities for our players. The improvements for Wrigley Field include a
better clubhouse, strength and conditioning facilities and training and
practice areas. These upgraded player facilities will put the Cubs in a
better position for sustained on-field success.
Great neighborhood tradition
A
renewed Wrigley Field will help maintain the neighborhood's great
character and enhance the quality of life in the Lakeview community.
Neighbors, visitors and fans will have an opportunity to experience the
excitement of Wrigley Field in an open, fun and entertaining atmosphere.
These additions will help support local businesses and keep Wrigley
Field a thriving contributor to the local economy.
Great business tradition
Wrigley
Field's neighborhood location supports local business. Every home game,
Cubs fans shop, dine and stay in locally owned bars, restaurants,
hotels and stores in unprecedented numbers. A recent report indicated
fans spend, on average, $104 per visit, bringing hundreds of thousands
of dollars to local businesses during every home game. Making sure
Wrigley Field continues to provide a great fan experience is vital to
the thriving Lakeview neighborhood.
11 things you might not know about Wrigley
1. Wrigley Field was not built for
the Chicago Cubs but rather for the Chicago Federals (known as the
“Chi-Feds”) of the short-lived Federal League. The Chi-Feds changed
their name to the Chicago Whales in 1915, and are the last professional
baseball team to call the ballpark at Clark and Addison their home field
and win a respective league championship. When the Federal League
folded at the end of 1915, Whales owner Charles Weeghman and a
consortium of men including J. Ogden Armour and William Wrigley were
allowed to purchase the Chicago Cubs and move them from the West Side
Grounds in today’s Little Italy to the North Side.
2.
Before Wrigley was built, the site was home to a Lutheran seminary. The
Lutheran seminary moved to nearby Maywood as a result of the noise
coming from the local elevated train. DePaul University’s athletic
director, who was familiar with the site, advised Charles Weeghman to
build his Federal League park at that location. “Weeghman Park” opened
in 1914.
3. The famous
ivy in the outfield was planted by former Chicago White Sox owner Bill
Veeck in 1937. Veeck, the son of former Cubs president Bill Veeck, Sr.,
would later own the Cleveland Indians, St. Louis Browns, and the Chicago
White Sox. Veeck is also credited with the modernization of the
concessions, as well as overseeing the 1937 bleacher and scoreboard
construction. That said, the ivy, while planted by Veeck, was the brainchild of P. K. Wrigley, then owner of the club.
4.
No baseball has ever hit the Wrigley Field scoreboard (installed, like
the ivy, in 1937). The only ball of any kind to hit the scoreboard was a
golf ball struck by Hall of Fame golfer Sam Sneed. Sneed teed off from
home plate and hit the scoreboard in 1951. The scoreboard is still
manually operated. However, the batter number, balls, and strikes are
operated electronically. The controls are located in the press box.
5.
There’s a big gate in right field. It’s commonly called the “elephant’s
gate,” because it was built to bring elephants into the field for the
circus. Beside circuses, Wrigley has held a number of events which
necessitate those large doors. Today, fans can look through those doors
all year round to see what is happening on the field; they’re kept open
for viewing.
6.
Wrigley was the first park that allowed fans to keep foul balls. Back
in 1915, owner Charlie Weeghman announced that the team’s fans would be
allowed to keep balls hit into the stands. This was really an effort to
show he was a man of means and could afford this “luxury.” Prior to
Weeghman’s decision, baseball fans were forced to give the ball back to
an usher.
7. The entire
idea of having a benefit game or a day honoring an
individual/organization also started at Wrigley Field in 1914. The
Federal League honored a number of different organizations; the schedule
included a Flag Day, a Newsboy Day, a Booster Day, and even a day
mourning the lives lost due to the sinking of the SS Eastland on the
Chicago River. Weeghman was an expert marketer; he also created the
practice of ball clubs giving away an item like a bat or a cap, giving
out thousands of team caps and pennants when the team debuted in 1914.
8.
The Cubs played a World Series in 1918 during Charles Weeghman’s third
season of ownership, but actually played at Comiskey Park, home of the
Chicago White Sox, instead of Weeghman Park. While both Comiskey Park
and Wrigley Field were designed by architect Zachary Taylor Davis,
Comiskey was larger at the time. Weeghman, wanting more profits from
more fans, had the games played at Comiskey. This gave the Boston Red
Sox de facto home field advantage, as the Red Sox were much more
familiar with Comiskey than the hometown Cubs were. The Red Sox were led
by future Hall of Famer Babe Ruth, who would later play a major role in
the 1932 World Series between the Cubs and the New York Yankees with
his so-called “Called Shot.” Today, Wrigley Field has a larger capacity
than the current home of the White Sox, Guaranteed Rate Field.(Stupidest
name in the world).
9.
There were actually two Wrigley Fields for some time. In 1925, in Los
Angeles, William Wrigley built a ballpark named Wrigley Field for his
minor league team. If you can’t make it to Wrigley Field in Chicago, you
can play in Little Wrigley Field, a tee-ball field in Freeport,
Illinois. “Little Wrigley Field” is a scale replica of the Friendly
Confines, including a brick wall.
10.
Wrigley Field has long been a multi-sport facility. While it has long
housed baseball, the NFL and the Chicago Bears also called Wrigley home
from 1921 to 1970. Beyond that, professional wrestling, boxing,
all-American girls baseball, the first international competition in
softball, soccer, college football, professional basketball, concerts,
religious revivals, a hippodrome, major motion pictures, and even rodeos
have used Wrigley Field. The most unusual non-baseball event was
probably a competition of the Norge Ski Club, in which Sgt. Alvin Torkle
made a jump from where today’s press box currently stands to short
center field.
11. I
wouldn’t park a car next to the ballpark on a game day. In a true
oddity, on June 13, 1956 a fan’s car was hit by not one but by two home
run balls as he had left his car parked outside the ballpark on Waveland
Avenue. Cubs Eddie Miksis and Giants Willie Mays both hit the parked
car—while the fan was inside watching the game!
