Since purchasing the Chicago Cubs baseball team and Wrigley Field in 2009, the Ricketts family have been pursuing an extensive renovation of the stadium and the surrounding venue. At its outset, the 1060 Project (so called after Wrigley Field's Addison Street address) was projected to cost $575 million and was to be completed in four phases during consecutive off-seasons. [1] Funding was generated from advertising revenue and increased corporate sponsorship in the form of additional signage placed in and around the stadium.
The initial plan, revealed during the annual Cubs Convention in January 2013, called for a $575-million, privately funded rehabilitation of the stadium to be completed over the course of five years. [2] The proposal included improvements to the stadium's facade, infrastructure, restrooms, concourses, suites, press box, bullpens, and clubhouses, as well as the addition of restaurants, patio areas, batting tunnels, a 5,700-square-foot (530 m2) jumbotron, and an adjacent hotel, plaza, and office-retail complex. [3]
Months of negotiations between the team, local Alderman Tom Tunney, and Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel occurred with the eventual endorsements of the city's Landmarks Commission and the Plan Commission and final approval by the Chicago City Council in July 2013. [4]
Increased advertising signage, in and around the park, help to fund the four phases of the renovation. Before the renovation began, the majority of the rooftop club owners that surround the stadium felt that such signs would obstruct their sight-lines and render them out of business. [5] [6]
Prior to 1980, the rooftops provided a vantage point and were a gathering place for free views of the ongoing Cubs games. Since the observers were the residents of the buildings, a few dozen people watching from the flat rooftops and windows of the buildings, with "seating" consisting of a few folding chairs, there was little commercial impact on the Cubs. When the popularity of the Cubs began to rise in the 1980s, formal seating structures began to appear, and building owners began charging admission; Cubs management became concerned about lost revenue and controlling their copyrights. [7] In 2002, the Cubs filed a lawsuit against various rooftops for copyright infringement. In 2004, 11 of the 13 roofs settled with the club, agreeing to pay 17% of gross revenue in exchange for official recognition through 2023. [8] With the Cubs and the rooftop owners reaching agreement, many of the facilities erected permanent seating structures. By 2014, 15 of those buildings' structures that were once residential apartments had evolved into rooftop businesses with multi-level facilities.
Before work on the project began, the team attempted to head off legal action from rooftop owners by offering to reduce the size and number of signs to be built, in order to gain their assent. [9] Unable to reach an agreement with the rooftop owners as renovations began, the Cubs said that they would pursue the original 2013 plan to modify the park. [10] Although some rooftop owners pursued legal action, courts ruled against them. [11] By 2018, the Ricketts family owned 11 of the rooftops, operating them as Wrigley Rooftops, LLC. [12]
The five-year renovation project, projected to cost $575 million, started as soon as the 2014 season was completed. [13] Prior to the start of the 2015 season, both left and right field bleachers were expanded and the stadium was extended further onto both Waveland Avenue to the north and Sheffield Avenue to the east. Seven new outfield signs were installed along with a 2,400-square-foot (220 m2) video scoreboard in right field. Construction was begun on new locker rooms and lounges to exist in an underground area that was excavated along Clark Street to the west. [14] A 3,990 sq ft (370 m2) Jumbotron was installed above the left field bleachers. It is topped with a sign advertising Rosemont-based Wintrust Financial, the Cubs' official banking partner. [15] The "W" in Wintrust flashes after every Cubs home win.
In an effort to preserve the past while at the same time modernizing for the future, the Cubs engaged DAIQ Architects, a company with experience in modernizing Fenway Park in Boston, Massachusetts, Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and Turner Field in Atlanta, Georgia. T. Gunny Harboe of Harboe Architects, a historic preservation architect who worked on the Rookery Building and Sullivan Center in the Chicago Loop, was selected to be the architect in charge of preserving the historic features and 1930s characteristics of the ballpark. VOA Associates, which helped design the new Navy Pier, provided construction drawings and Icon Venue Group is the project management company. [16]
Thornton Tomasetti, a global structural engineering and architecture firm, first established in 1956 as LZA, with a Chicago based office, was tasked with designing the structural steel framework to support the new construction. Since the opening of Wrigley Field, April 23, 1914, over a century ago, several expansions (1922, 1927, 2006) and renovations have occurred (1937, 1988, 2014 2019).
January 2013, the structural assessment, evaluation, and documentation of the existing structural steel members of both the upper and lower deck of the grandstand bleachers, as well as the concourse, were underway. Thornton Tomasetti’s connection engineering (CE) team designed the structural steel reinforcement system needed to support the new addition and renovation.
The assessment, evaluation, and documentation of the existing, century old, structural steel system as well as the design and analysis of the new reinforcement structural system were completed in 2014, prior to the start of the 2014 season.
The west parking lots adjacent to the field are the future location of Triangle Plaza and the Cubs' new office building. Structural steel and concrete work continued throughout the stadium complex during the 2015 season with the addition of new concession areas and restroom facilities, outfield group terraces and a reworked third-base side concourse. [17]
Wrigley Field has distinct outfield walls which are covered by a combination of Boston ivy and Japanese bittersweet. [18] The ivy was planted 87 years ago in 1937, having been an idea of future MLB owner Bill Veeck years earlier. [19]
Due to delays caused by cold weather and construction restrictions, the renovations in left and center field were delayed until May 11 while the right-field bleachers were finished in mid-June. [20] Attendance during the opening weeks of the 2015 season was affected by the unavailability of approximately 5,000 bleacher seats. [21] The announced crowd for the home opener against the St. Louis Cardinals was 35,055 while the second game of the series drew 26,814. [22] Prior to the renovation, seating capacity for Wrigley Field was 41,160. [23] [24]
Work continued throughout the summer of 2015 on the foundation and structural work for the Cubs' new clubhouse and office building as well as an open-air plaza and retail space. The excavation for the future home of the 30,000-square-foot (2,800 m2) Cubs' clubhouse and new office building was completed in July. Work continued during the off-season and the completed clubhouse was ready by Opening Day of the 2016 season. Support columns for a six-story office building, which will house the Cubs' administrative offices and a ground-floor retail space, have been installed and the building is expected to be completed by late 2016. [25]
After the close of the extended 2015 season, work began to convert the excavated area just west of the field into a 30,000-square-foot (2,800 m2) area for players' locker rooms, strength, conditioning, training and hydrotherapy sections, players' lounges, a media center and team offices. The previous clubhouse space will be utilized to enlarge the dugout and add two underground batting cages, an auditorium and more team office space. Premium and season ticket holders will be afforded a new "Third Base Club" next to the batting tunnels and a "Home Plate Club" will be introduced behind home plate. All seats, from the left-field foul pole to the main gate, will be removed and replaced and new concessions and bathrooms will be added. An upper-deck exposed concourse will be added along the south and west roof-line of right field. Improved bathroom facilities and additional concessions are included. [26]
On November 2, 2015, workers began dismantling the marquee and relocating it for renovation and refurbishment. The marquee had been in place since 1933. [27] The marquee was returned on April 5, 2016.
The statue of famed broadcaster Harry Caray was returned to the promenade outside the center field gate. The statues of Hall of Famers Ron Santo and Billy Williams were returned to the corner of Addison and Sheffield by the right field entrance. The Ernie Banks statue was placed at the Main entrance at the corner of Addison and Clark. [28]
Upon the conclusion of game five of the 2016 World Series, off season construction preparations began for implementing the third phase of the 5-year project. Placement of a chain link fence around the external ballpark wall was temporarily delayed to allow Cub fans to continue to express their joy with chalk drawings and comments (as they had throughout the playoffs and into the World Series). [29]
With the early conclusion of the 2017 season, permits were acquired and work began on the fourth phase of off-season improvements. The area under the seats behind home plate is the location of the new 600 seat American Airlines 1914 Club, the first of four premier luxury clubs planned around the park. Both players dugouts were relocated further down the foul lines prior to the 2018 season to allow for construction of an additional two clubs. They were also widened for maneuverability, with the home team dugout also being able to be removed and filled for football usage in order to allow a full 120 x 53 1/3 field to be configured (when the Chicago Bears played at Wrigley Field, the end zones were eight yards deep and could not host college games where the goal post was on the end line; from 1933 to 1973, the goal post was on the goal line in the NFL, so this configuration allows for a full 10-yard end zone). Two elevators were installed to access the upper levels of the ballpark. The fan safety netting was extended to the end of each dugout. The Hotel Zachary, across the street from the park, was opened just prior to the first home game. The last club, located in the upper level, is planned for the 2019 season. [36] [37]
The final part of the 1060 Project implemented a renumbering of all the seats within the park to be in line with numbering procedures used in other MLB ballparks. [38] The visiting team clubhouse has been expanded and renovated, with 40 lockers, a visiting managers office and a coaches room. Additional elevators to the upper deck and wheelchair accessible seats were added. Work on the Catalina Club, located on the upper level under the press box, is complete. It has a 400-person capacity. The upper deck has been enlarged onto extended patios for concession stands and increased restroom facilities and the aforementioned Upper Level Club along with a walk way. Upper-level seating has been updated. The Captain Morgan Club and the Draft King Club Zone were replaced with a two-story venue in a right field corner extension of the park with food and beverage concessions available just outside the gate. [39] The left-field corner of the Bleachers now has a standing area for about 75 people. Former Gate F has been renamed as Gate 3 under the marquee. Players' banners are on display along Addison Avenue.
In March 2015, just prior to the baseball season, Ricketts announced an additional year will be required to complete the 1060 project, bringing the project to the original five years projected. [40]
In 2021, Saving Wrigley Field, the documentary about the project is uploaded on the Cubs' official YouTube channel. [41]
The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) Central Division. The club plays its home games at Wrigley Field, which is located on Chicago's North Side. They are one of two major league teams based in Chicago, alongside the American League (AL)’s Chicago White Sox. The Cubs, first known as the White Stockings, were a founding member of the NL in 1876, becoming the Chicago Cubs in 1903.
Wrigley Field is a ballpark on the North Side of Chicago, Illinois. It is the home ballpark of Major League Baseball's Chicago Cubs, one of the city's two MLB franchises. It first opened in 1914 as Weeghman Park for Charles Weeghman's Chicago Whales of the Federal League, which folded after the 1915 baseball season. The Cubs played their first home game at the park on April 20, 1916, defeating the Cincinnati Reds 7–6 in 11 innings. Chewing gum magnate William Wrigley Jr. of the Wrigley Company acquired the Cubs in 1921. It was named Cubs Park from 1920 to 1926, before being renamed Wrigley Field in 1927. The stadium currently seats 41,649 people and is the second stadium to be named Wrigley Field, as a Los Angeles ballpark with the same name opened in 1925.
Progressive Field is a baseball stadium in the downtown area of Cleveland, Ohio, United States. It is the ballpark of the Cleveland Guardians of Major League Baseball and, together with Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse, is part of the Gateway Sports and Entertainment Complex. It was ranked as MLB's best ballpark in a 2008 Sports Illustrated fan opinion poll.
Wrigley Rooftops is a name for the sixteen rooftops of residential buildings which have bleachers or seating on them to view baseball games or other major events at Wrigley Field. Since 1914 Wrigley roofs have dotted the neighborhood of Wrigleyville around Wrigley Field, where the Chicago Cubs play Major League Baseball. Venues on Waveland Avenue overlook left field, while those along Sheffield Avenue have a view over right field.
Guaranteed Rate Field, formerly Comiskey Park and U.S. Cellular Field, is a baseball stadium located on the South Side of Chicago, Illinois. It is the ballpark of Major League Baseball’s Chicago White Sox, one of the city's two MLB teams, and is owned by the state of Illinois through the Illinois Sports Facilities Authority. Completed at a cost of US$137 million, the park opened as Comiskey Park on April 18, 1991, taking its name from the former ballpark at which the White Sox had played since 1910.
Principal Park, formerly Sec Taylor Stadium, is a minor league baseball stadium in Des Moines, Iowa. It is the home field of the International League's Iowa Cubs.
West Side Park was the name used for two different ballparks that formerly stood in Chicago, Illinois. They were both home fields of the team now known as the Chicago Cubs of the National League. Both ballparks hosted baseball championships. The latter of the two parks, where the franchise played for nearly a quarter century, was the home of the first two world champion Cubs teams, the team that posted the best winning percentage in Major League Baseball history and won the most games in National League history (1906), the only cross-town World Series in Chicago (1906), and the immortalized Tinker to Evers to Chance double-play combo. Both ballparks were primarily constructed of wood.
George M. Steinbrenner Field, formerly known as Legends Field, is a baseball stadium located in Tampa, Florida, across the Dale Mabry Highway from Raymond James Stadium, the home of the National Football League's Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The ballpark was built in 1996 and seats 11,026 people, with an addition in right field built in 2007. It is the largest spring training ballpark in Florida.
LECOM Park is a baseball field located in Bradenton, Florida. It is the spring training home of the Pittsburgh Pirates and is named after a 15-year naming rights deal was signed with the Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine, which has its main campus in Erie, Pennsylvania, and also a campus in Bradenton. It was formerly known as McKechnie Field, named for Bradenton resident and Baseball Hall of Fame great Bill McKechnie, who led the Pirates in 1925 and the Cincinnati Reds in 1940 to World Series titles. He was also a coach with the Cleveland Indians in 1948.
Community Field is a stadium in Burlington, Iowa. It is primarily used for baseball and is the home field of the Burlington Bees collegiate summer baseball team of the Prospect League. Occasionally, the stadium is used by the local high school baseball team. The current stadium holds 3,200 people. Community Field was most recently named the 2013 "Field of the Year" in the state of Iowa by the Iowa Sports Turf Management Association.
FNB Field is a baseball park in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, on City Island in the Susquehanna River. It is the home field of the Harrisburg Senators, the Double-A Eastern League affiliate of the Washington Nationals, and was the home stadium of Penn FC of the USL. The original structure was built in 1987 and it was called Riverside Stadium until 2004. It has a capacity of 6,187. The ballpark received a $45 million renovation that began in 2008.
Calfee Park is a stadium in Pulaski, Virginia, United States. It is primarily used for baseball, and is the home ballpark of the Pulaski River Turtles in the Appalachian League, a summer collegiate baseball league. It was built in 1935 as a Works Progress Administration project, and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Calfee Park was named after the mayor of Pulaski in 1935, Ernest W. Calfee. It holds approximately 3,200 people. Calfee Park is owned and operated by David Hagan and Larry Shelor, owners of Shelor Motor Mile. Calfee Park was voted the best rookie-level ballpark in America in 2019 and 2020 by a fan vote in Ballpark Digest's annual Best of the Ballparks competition.
Medlar Field at Lubrano Park is a 5,570-seat baseball stadium in University Park, Pennsylvania, that hosted its first regular season baseball game on June 20, 2006, when the State College Spikes lost to the Williamsport Crosscutters, 5–3. The Penn State Nittany Lions college baseball team began play at the ballpark in 2007.
Yosh Kawano was an American clubhouse manager for the Chicago Cubs baseball team who retired in 2008 and was known for his trademark white fishing hat. Kawano's long service and dedication to the team made him a part of Chicago Cubs team lore. A member of the Chicago Cubs Hall of Fame, he is honored by a plaque in the concourse of Wrigley Field.
"Eamus Catuli" is a Latin phrase associated with the Chicago Cubs, a Major League Baseball team, and with the team's home ballpark, Wrigley Field. It has gained fame at both a local and national level. Featured on a sign that sits perched atop the Lakeview Baseball Club—the first of the rooftop establishments overlooking the ballpark—it has not only become something of a rallying cry amongst Cubs fans, but has also served to mark the team's historic futility. "Eamus Catuli" is a Latin translation for "Let's go Cubs".
Thomas Stuart Ricketts is the chairman of the Chicago Cubs, and the Chairman, co-founder and former CEO of Incapital LLC, a firm that provides securities firms and individual investors more efficient access to corporate bonds. Together with his sister Laura and brothers Pete and Todd, the Ricketts siblings are the board of directors for the Cubs. He is the son of TD Ameritrade Holding Corporation founder J. Joseph Ricketts. Joe Ricketts has a net worth of US$2.3 billion as of 2018 according to Forbes.
The history of Wrigley Field, the home of the Chicago Cubs of Major League Baseball's National League, begins well before the Cubs played their first game in that venue.
The 2015 Chicago Cubs season was the 144th season for the franchise, the 140th in the National League and the 100th at Wrigley Field. The Cubs were managed by Joe Maddon in his first year as Cubs manager and played their home games at Wrigley Field as members of the National League Central.
Ashburn Alley is the open concourse behind center field at Citizens Bank Park, home of the Philadelphia Phillies. It is named after Hall of Famer Richie Ashburn, Phillies center fielder from 1948 to 1959, and was also a long time broadcaster for the Phillies from 1963 until his death in September 1997. Ashburn Alley spans from the left field gate to "The Yard" kids area, and features a "street-fair" like atmosphere before and during a game.