Tag / 1060 Project

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Trouble At Wrigley Field

Last August, the Cubs threw themselves a party to celebrate the end of the 1060 Project and the completion of the remodeling of Wrigley Field and the build out of the surrounding area.  The event also included the premiere of a new documentary about the renovations titled Saving Wrigley Field and the unveiling of two new plaques outside of the main gate: one to commemorate Wrigley Field’s official designation as a National Historic Landmark and the second to, and I quote, “commemorate the Ricketts family’s commitment to preserving Wrigley Field.”

Today, the honeymoon period came to an end as the U.S. attorney’s office in Chicago filed a lawsuit against the Cubs, claiming the renovations violated federal law by failing to make the park “appropriately accessible” to fans with disabilities.  The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court, comes nearly three years after federal authorities had launched an investigation into whether the Cubs’ $1 billion, five-year renovation of Wrigley Field met the standards of the Americans with Disabilities Act.  The suit claims that the renovations of the bleachers and the lower grandstand did not provide wheelchair users with adequate sightlines when compared to standing patrons.

Per the suit, In the grandstand, “a wheelchair user can barely see any of the infield when spectators stand up—often during the most exciting parts of the game.”  The wheelchair areas in the lower bowl are usually directly behind the last row of a section, with no riser to put them higher than the standing fans in front of them.  In the bleachers, wheelchair seating is similarly clustered in the last row of seating sections, according to the suit.

The lawsuit also claims that the design failed to remove architectural barriers to access in unaltered portions of the ballpark and that premium and group seating areas, such as the Catalina Club in the upper deck and the Budweiser Patio in the right field bleachers, do not support wheelchair seating.

In a statement, Cubs spokesman Julian Green said the team had been cooperating with the probe and was “disappointed” with the Justice Department’s decision to move forward with the suit.  The Cubs “hope the matter can be resolved amicably, but we will defend Wrigley Field and our position it meets accessibility requirements for fans,” the statement reads.  “The renovation of Wrigley Field greatly increased accessibility of the ballpark and was completed in accordance with applicable law and historic preservation standards consistent with the ballpark’s designation as a National and City of Chicago landmark.”  The team also says that Wrigley Field “is now more accessible than ever in its 108-year history” and “has 11 more elevators than it did prior to the start of the renovation, more accessible restroom facilities, assistive listening technology for fans with hearing impairments, enhanced audio speakers and sound systems throughout the ballpark, and upgraded ticketing and online systems for purchase of seating, including accessible seating.”

So, what’s the likely outcome here?  It could end up going a number of ways, with a best-case scenario of a dismissal following initial legal arguments to a worst-case scenario of a lengthy trial, with settlements of cash or structural fixes in the middle.

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Celebrating Yourself

The Cubs are holding a party tonight to celebrate the end of the 1060 Project and the completion of the remodeling of Wrigley Field and the build out of the surrounding area.  The event, open to season ticket holders, includes the premiere of a new documentary about the renovations titled Saving Wrigley Field and the unveiling of two new plaques outside of the main gate: one to commemorate Wrigley Field’s official designation as a National Historic Landmark and the second to, and I quote, “commemorate the Ricketts family’s commitment to preserving Wrigley Field.”

The Cubs are also expected to unveil a new Hall of Fame, which was supposed to happen last year but was delayed due to the pandemic.  The Hall of Fame, which will be located on the left field bleacher concourse, will have its inaugural class of 56 inductees(!) announced at the event and will allow the Cubs to hold subsequent induction events on a yearly basis.  Those 56 inductees represent the 41 individuals previously enshrined in the original Cubs Hall of Fame (1982-86), nine additional individuals enshrined in the Cubs Walk of Fame (1992-98), five Cubs recently recognized by the National Baseball Hall of Fame and a new 2021 inductee, Margaret Donahue, who broke gender barriers as Major League Baseball’s first female officer who was not a team owner.  The plaques will be on display starting Friday.

I will, of course, be missing this whole hullabaloo, as I’m currently driving to Florida for vacation.  One must wonder on the timing of this event, coming on the heels of a late July tradeoff and another long losing streak, especially since it was all intended to roll out last year and was just announced a few weeks back.

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A Wrigley Field For The 21st Century

2015marqueeThe 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.

B7lCcWaCcAAeiq8As 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.

RFBleachersThe 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. Continue reading →

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A Dog & Pony Show

cubseventOver the weekend, the Cubs put on a number of presentations for their season ticket holders reviewing the progress over the past year and the plans for the upcoming year.  I attended the early presentation on Saturday, which featured President of Business Operations Crane Kenney, general manager Jed Hoyer, and radio play by play man Pat Hughes.

Crane Kenney kicked things off with a review of that morning’s official ground breaking for the newly dubbed 1060 Project, the rehab and expansion of Wrigley Field.  He followed up on that with multimedia presentations covering, among other things, the new spring training facilities, the new baseball academy in the Dominican Republic, and the goals behind the renovations at Wrigley Field.

Jed Hoyer was next on stage, covering the baseball side of things.  His initial focus was on the development of the major league roster, including Anthony Rizzo, Starlin Castro, and, surprisingly, Luis Valbuena.  The pitching staff remains a work in progress and should be a focal point of this offseason.  Hoyer also went out of his way to point out that signing Edwin Jackson may have been a mistake.  Finally, Hoyer addressed the young future of the team, starting with Javy Baez, Jorge Soler, and Arismendy Alcantara, covering both the successes they had and the struggles they faced in the big leagues.  He followed that up with a look at the minor leagues, including Kris Bryant, Albert Almora, Addison Russell, Billy McKinney, and Kyle Schwarber.

When Hoyer was done, he was rejoined on stage by Kenney and moderator Pat Hughes for a brief Q & A session with the audience.  Nothing of much substance was covered during this part of the presentation.  Overall, it was a well put together event with only one downside: an audience full of demented Cub fans.

One older gentleman spent the time before the program began telling everyone who would listen that Theo Epstein has no business holding his job because he once attended a panel at the Cubs Convention wearing a red shirt.  While focusing in on red being a “Cardinal color”, this scholar has missed out on the fact that it is also one of the colors of, yep, you guessed it, the Chicago Cubs.  Another fun group of gentlemen were the mid-20s former frat boys sitting behind me who wondered 1) why there were so many women at an event for season ticket holders and 2) if throwing your wife down a flight of stairs should really count as domestic violence.  The Cubs spent the afternoon trying to convince their customers to renew their season tickets.  Some of their fans did their best to undo the efforts, just by being themselves.