What's Next for Wrigley Field

[Patchez]

Since it is inevitable that the Cubs with get a new home, in the interim, perhaps some company might want temporary naming rights for the old ballpark. (now don't give me that "never" and "tradition" crap, if any ballpark has a "tradition" it's Yankee Stadium, and even she's will be a parking lot soon!)

I say when the Cubs do move out, that someone, perhaps the City of Chicago, or the Illinois Sports Facilities Authority (owners of U.S. Cellular Field) buy it, lop off the upper deck which is "tumblin' down" anyway (pardon my Mellencamp!). Add telescoping light towers that are hidden during the daytime, once planned for Wrigley, but cancelled due to WWII. Build into the facility a sports museum, perhaps invite the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum to "move on up to the east side" (pardon my Jeffersons!)... east of KC anyway!, buy out the annual College World Series contract from Omaha and move it to the big city, allow regional college and high school games, tournaments, championships, even softball!!! Perhaps have minor league championship games/series held there annually providing a great vacation opportunity for fans all over. Heck, considering the neighborhood, make it home base for the Gay Games! Build an in-house brewery and restaurant. Keep it a National Baseball mecca, long after the Cubbies leave! (Speaking of "tradition crap", we're looking at you Cooperstown!!! Let's move the Hall of Fame Museum more towards the middle of our Country!!!)

No offense to Cooperstown, Omaha and Kansas City, but those who tag-a-long to baseball events held at the new Wrigley Field (perhaps with Mars' money, Wrigley can pay to keep the name up!) will have many more entertainment and sightseeing options when visiting Chicagoland than those other towns. (Dad and the boys at the ballpark while the gals check out Oprah and Judge Mathis!)

Of course both the Cubs and especially the White Sox, would never allow a full-time minor league team to play there, because based on the two teams' performance at the time, the minor league team could very well outdraw the majors for the facility reason alone!

[JJSCOTT]

I was in total shock reading this post til I got to the bottom and saw the sig.

[TrueYankee26]

They should just build a new Wrigley Field with new technology

[LC]

What does this have to do with logos?

[Patchez]

They should just build a new Wrigley Field with new technology

I agree True, but the current site would not be a good fit. Building elsewhere on the northside would be best. Perhaps Goose Island, which would allow the Chicago skyline to provide a cool background to the bleachers.

BTW, although I am a White Sox fan first, ever since I won a 20 year old bet on which Chicago team wins a World Series first, I now also root for the Cubs (except when playing the Sox) and I do like Wrigley Field, but the business of baseball today will require a new ballpark for revenue generation alone.

Additionally, the best time to break the news to the diehards is right after the new owners take over.

I'm all for saving Wrigley Field when the Cubs do move on.

[Waleslax]

Since when are the Cubs moving out? Why is that "inevitable?" I'm lost here. Do you know something the rest of the world doesn't?

Since when is the top deck of Wrigley "crumbling?"

Why do you think the women would want to go see Oprah or Judge Mathis? My girlfriend, Mom and Sister are all huge baseball fans. Why do you have to say something so sexist???

[Waleslax]

Since you are such a big White Sox fan, I've got to ask you to clarify something in your post. Which minor league team outdraws the Cubs? Since the Cubs outdraw the Sox, I suppose that'd also be a minor league team that outdraws the Sox.

That'd be one heck of a minor league team!

http://www.baseball-almanac.com/teams/wsoxatte.shtml

http://www.baseball-almanac.com/teams/cubsatte.shtml

[Patchez]

Since you are such a big White Sox fan, I've got to ask you to clarify something in your post. Which minor league team outdraws the Cubs? Since the Cubs outdraw the Sox, I suppose that'd also be a minor league team that outdraws the Sox.

First of all, there's no need to bring up my weight!

Since you apparently missed the humor sprinkled within my post and my modified Cub logo (with the iPod plugs... Apple Field... Apple iPod... get it?), I will explain for you.

The Cubs do indeed draw more people to the games than the White Sox. I believe that if the teams switched ballparks for ten years, the Sox will then draw more fans than the Cubs will. No knock against U.S. Celullar Field, while I hated it initially, they did do a good job of making it a better place to see a ball game, even if they only allow for one World Series monument!!

The Cubs built up their audience by several factors:

(1) day games - every summer everyone wanted to play hooky from school or work;

(2) WGN TV - first for its strong midwest signal, then a cable superstation. Baseball fans from small communities without a MLB team could always catch a Cubs telecast and when an opportunity allowed, made a point to travel to Chicago for a game or two (baseball mecca);

(3) In the sixty's when I attended a lot of Cubs games, I used to walk up to the bleacher gates, line up get game day tickets, because the grandstands were filled with many groups of school patrol boys/girls, boy and girl scouts, church groups, etc. most of which were on sugar highs from Coke and cotton candy, cheering Cub popups to the infield, chanting "we want a hit" unaware that at bat was Rusty Staub, from the other team. More true baseball fans were found in the bleachers then... my point here is these kids grew up to prefer to go the Wrigley Field for a good time. Especially when they got old enough for beer;

(4) Beer

(5) Harry Carey - he once kissed my mother-in-law on a Wrigley ramp, made her a fan for life!;

(6) The neighborhood - while statistically Wrigleyville has had a higher crime rate than around Comiskey/The Cell, it does so because it is a vibrant bar scene, a social hotbed which mostly transplants from far and wide, who settled in the area for jobs after college, they love hanging out before and after games, hell, even when the Cubs are on the road!;

(7) Wrigley Field's outfield bleachers, rooftop stands, high rises and lake in the distance provides a beautiful background for a day in the suds, I mean sun!; and finally

(8) in recent years, Cubs ownership finally made better efforts to re-invest the team's vast revenue into more quality ballplayers and coaches (minus Dusty Baker of course!)

I know it's ancient history now, but the Wrigley's used the ball club for a tax write-off for their gum company, and the Tribune Company always had the funds, but never really competed with their peers in the NL consistantly (IMHO).

I do believe a Minor league team in Wrigley Field would out draw the White Sox in the Cell and would out draw the Cubs at another ballpark it the minor league team had a similar build up as the Cubs did. There are many in the paying ballpark audience that do not concern themselves with the quality of ball playing on the field. I've seen many at White Sox games, much, much more at Wrigley Field. If monuments are put up honoring the team with a larger paying audience, it's time to move some bricks on Addison and Clark, or put Ernie's statue in dry storage.

I said audience above, not fans, now I am not dissing true baseball fans who prefer the Cubs. They're out there as well, but factoring in the folks there for beer and bodies, sun and sin, and smokey links, Wrigley Field (the facility) pulls in the audience. The White Sox (ownership) or any other team would love that magic formula. Red Sox' have it! Cardinals' do too, but the Cards won the most World Series in the NL, and what else is there to do in St. Louis?? The White Sox had full stands when the new ballpark opened, but as soon as I saw the first "wave", I knew it wasn't baseball fans Not Chicago baseball fans, not White Sox fans, but an audience. And when the Sox were the best team in the majors way back in '05, they brought out a bigger audience, but that only lasts as long as they're winning. I am not complaining, I like elbow room when watching baseball. That's why I attended Cubs games back in the day. Now try to get bleacher seats the same day of the game!

So, in short, Wrigley Field will be done with major league baseball within a decade (that's ten years) and that is sad, but the Cub fans will have a better ballpark, better than the Cell, and better performance by their players. Day baseball is not good for winning baseball.

Just imagine you are a modern, young, twenty-something millionaire ballplayer, perhaps you're single and you like going out after work for fun. But your job requires not only a curfew, but if you want to perform your best, you must refrain from many fun activities that could effect you the next day. Then when you get to the ballpark, you're time on the field pre-game is limited due to the fact that your boss' chooses to "sell" time on the field to corporations so their employees and guests can toss a ball around and press the flesh with the coaches and a few young ballplayers who can't get out of the chore. The ballpark outside the field has very limited areas for working out for baseball needs. Then it's game time and you hadn't worked on some recent problem areas you need. Then its play ball, perhaps busting your ass in the hot sun. Whether the "W" flag flies afterwards or not, you still need to work out your problem areas. It's now cocktail hour and the beer is cold and the women are hot and the rodent's are taking over the old clubhouse -Or- if you're lucky, your wife has a list of "honeydos" for you at home before you wind down for the next day's work (game). Sounds like a 9 to 5 job to me! Still others in your line of work spend their afternoons preparing for that evenings work on the field, rest up before game time, play a game in a cooler evening, have a post game good time as long or brief as they choose, hit the sack and sleep a little later should they need to. Then head out to work the next afternoon. And those guys end up on teams that win more titles than you!

...finding reasons to SAVE WRIGLEY FIELD!

[LEWJ]

Wooooh let's have a big apple on our chicago park.

"Apple Stadium" might be a little better suited for a NY stadium/park.

[Patchez]

Wooooh let's have a big apple on our chicago park.

"Apple Stadium" might be a little better suited for a NY stadium/park.

My bad... excellent catch LEWJ!

Some of my fellow Sox fans would prefer Wrigley renamed "Viagra Field" to honor those hardcore "stiffs" who in the past, continued to show up to support the Cubbies poor management allowing decades of losing!