City plans design limits for Wrigley expansion

By Gary Washburn
Tribune staff reporter

November 4, 2004

The city soon will give the Chicago Cubs design standards for a Wrigley Field bleachers expansion, city Planning Commissioner Denise Casalino said Wednesday.

Limits will be set for the height of Wrigley's outer walls in an effort to preserve the appearance of the landmark ballpark and to retain the views of the surrounding neighborhood for most of the fans inside the stadium, Casalino said.

But "we really are not focusing [on the number of] seats," she said. "We are focusing on how the stadium would look altered."

The Cubs want to add 1,980 seats but "haven't done the true engineering that will have to be done for the bleachers," Casalino said. "I think once we come up with how we want the stadium to look, they will have to do their engineering and see how much they can get out of it."

Increasing the height of the outer walls would impede the views from some of the surrounding rooftop businesses. But that matter "is really for the Cubs and [the businesses] to work out," Casalino said. "We are not necessarily here to protect anybody's view."

Wrigley Field and the Cubs are owned by Tribune Co., which also owns the Chicago Tribune.

Copyright © 2004, The Chicago Tribune