We will give Cubs owner Tom Ricketts this, he's trying to make the most out of one of baseball's most iconic stadiums.
Ricketts and the Cubs on Tuesday afternoon released what they say is a "New and Improved" Wrigley that would offer more amenities, more seating, a rather large Video Board and more importantly to Ricketts, more space for ads.
The scoreboard, which is superimposed on the photo here on your right, would be 6,000 square feet. The downside, it pretty much takes the seats on people's Brownstone's behind the left field wall, completely out of play. And that is a part of the plan that residents in Wrigleyville, the neighborhood surrounding the stadium don't like.
Other features include a hotel, a fan plaza, an office building and doubling the size of locker and clubhouse areas.The cost: $300 million for stadium work and another $200 million for work in the surrounding area.
Bravo for Ricketts.
Yeah, sure, it will change the look and feel, to some extent, of one of Sports most iconic locations. For any Sports fan over the age of 30, seeing a game at Wrigley Field is something you MUST have on your bucket list.
As much as we LOVED the 2 visits we made there, the place could stand some changes. Yes, the old, rundown stands/stadium. The small, antiquated entrances. The giant old scoreboard in centerfield, the are all part of the character of the place.
But these days sport is all about maximizing revenue and Wrigley for all its charm and character, is maxed out as it currently stands. The Cubs, though they've sucked for a long, long time need the increased revenues to compete with their baseball brethren and the only way to do that is to either (a) improve what they've got, or (b) build something else.
Thankfully, they are choosing choice A.
Here's a story on local reaction from Chicago's WMAQ-TV:
View more videos at: http://nbcchicago.com.
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