{"id":19171,"date":"2022-07-14T10:52:39","date_gmt":"2022-07-14T16:52:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/learningturkey.com\/blog\/?p=19171"},"modified":"2022-07-14T10:52:39","modified_gmt":"2022-07-14T16:52:39","slug":"trouble-at-wrigley-field","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/learningturkey.com\/blog\/2022\/07\/trouble-at-wrigley-field\/","title":{"rendered":"Trouble At Wrigley Field"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Last August<\/a>, 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.\u00a0 The event also included the premiere of a new documentary about the renovations titled Saving Wrigley Field\u00a0<\/em>and the unveiling of two new plaques outside of the main gate: one to\u00a0commemorate Wrigley Field\u2019s official designation as a National Historic Landmark and the second to, and I quote, \u201ccommemorate the Ricketts family\u2019s commitment to preserving Wrigley Field.\u201d<\/p>\n

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 \u201cappropriately accessible\u201d to fans with disabilities.\u00a0 The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court, comes nearly three years after federal authorities had launched an investigation into whether the Cubs\u2019 $1 billion, five-year renovation of Wrigley Field met the standards of the Americans with Disabilities Act.\u00a0 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.<\/p>\n

Per the suit, In the grandstand, \u201ca wheelchair user can barely see any of the infield when spectators stand up\u2014often during the most exciting parts of the game.\u201d\u00a0 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.\u00a0 In the bleachers, wheelchair seating is similarly clustered in the last row of seating sections, according to the suit.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

In a statement, Cubs spokesman Julian Green said the team had been cooperating with the probe and was \u201cdisappointed\u201d with the Justice Department\u2019s decision to move forward with the suit.\u00a0 The Cubs \u201chope the matter can be resolved amicably, but we will defend Wrigley Field and our position it meets accessibility requirements for fans,\u201d the statement reads.\u00a0 \u201cThe 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\u2019s designation as a National and City of Chicago landmark.\u201d\u00a0 The team also says that Wrigley Field \u201cis now more accessible than ever in its 108-year history\u201d 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

So, what’s the likely outcome here?\u00a0 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.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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.\u00a0 The event also included the premiere of a new documentary about the renovations titled Saving Wrigley Field\u00a0and the unveiling of two new […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[5102,10136,120,10137,9745,595],"class_list":["post-19171","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-baseball","tag-1060-project","tag-ada","tag-cubs","tag-julian-green","tag-saving-wrigley-field","tag-wrigley-field"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/learningturkey.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19171","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/learningturkey.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/learningturkey.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/learningturkey.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/learningturkey.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19171"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/learningturkey.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19171\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":19172,"href":"http:\/\/learningturkey.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19171\/revisions\/19172"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/learningturkey.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19171"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/learningturkey.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19171"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/learningturkey.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19171"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}