The Cubs kicked off the 2015 baseball season by hosting the Cardinals Sunday night, giving the world their first look at the first stage of Wrigley Field renovations.  Despite the best laid plans of Crane Kenney and the Cubs business team, the stadium was, sadly, not ready for prime time.

As expected, the renovations that were planned to be completed over this past offseason were not completed on time.  The Cubs had peviously announced that the bleachers would not be ready for the beginning of the season.  To mask their emptiness, they were covered with tarps featuring images of the late Ernie Banks.

The new video board planned for right field has not been installed yet, but the big Budweiser sign certainly was in place.  There were small changes to the centerfield scoreboard: removing the ribbon board underneath the board and replacing it with the new between-inning timer.  In left field, the new monster video board was in place, having been installed within days of Sunday’s ballgame.

Once the game started, the fact that the stadium was not suited to be opened for public use became apparent.  Part of the renovations that have not been completed had a number of restrooms closed.  During the game, 2 additonal restrooms were shut down due to plumbing problems, causing nearly hour long lines to get in to the remaining bathrooms.  The thought of supplementing the available facilities with some temporary solutions apparently did not occur to the Cubs braintrust, forcing them to send out an apology to season ticket holders Monday night after the story went national.

Now that the season is underway, the Cubs are now saying that the total renovation project, originally expected to take 4 years, will now likely stretch to 5.  The bleachers are now expected to partially open in mid-to-late May with the full seating likely not available until the end of June.  Full bathroom capabilities are not expected until the end of May.  While the Cubs claim that their fans did not want to move to another stadium, either US Cellular Field or Miller Park, during the renovations, it seems clear that the option should have at least been explored.  In the long run, Wrigley Field will continue to be the home of the Cubs for many years to come.  At some point, these missteps will likely just become another part of “Cubby” lore.