Cubs submit Wrigley repair plans

By Gary Washburn
Tribune staff reporter

January 10, 2005, 10:57 PM CST

The Cubs on Monday submitted an engineering report to the city that calls for the replacement of deteriorated ramp sections at Wrigley Field and regular inspection and patching—but no immediate replacement—of precast concrete panels in the upper deck.

Netting or some other protective barrier would be used for the foreseeable future to protect against the possibility of further spalling, or breaking off of pieces of concrete, from the panels under the recommendation of the engineering firm of Wiss, Janney, Elstner Associates.

Wiss, Janney was hired by the Cubs at the city's request to assess the ballpark's condition, find the cause of concrete deterioration and recommend remedial action.

Chunks of concrete fell from upper-deck panels on three separate occasions last season. No injuries were reported, but the incidents put the Cubs and the Daley administration at loggerheads over how the problem was handled.

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

The panel inspection and repair program "is judged acceptable and comparable to that of other well-maintained" similar structures, the report said. But "this study has shown that there are thousands of potential sites from which spalling could occur, and damage is continuing to develop."

To ensure safety, Wiss, Janney engineers recommended installation of a removable barrier system such as custom netting or screening that would allow for periodic inspections. As an alternate approach, they said that a "surface-applied fiber grid" could be used at certain places in the park.

Nevertheless, "given their condition after 40 years of service, the upper deck precast members should not require replacement in the near-term (certainly not in the next 10 years)," the report said.

The city's Buildings Department had no immediate comment on the report. But Buildings Commissioner Stan Kaderbek has said in the past that netting should be used only as a short-term precaution.

Ramps can support the loads they handle but "in spite of numerous prior repairs, the ramp slabs and curbs are continuing to deteriorate" because of the corrosion of embedded steel bars and other problems, the report said.

It calls for phased replacement of all deteriorated sections over the next five years.

"Wiss, Janney is the fourth team of structural engineers to conclude Wrigley Field is safe for our fans," Cubs President Andy MacPhail said in a statement. "The Chicago Cubs will continue to work with our structural engineers and to invest our own money to protect the safety of our fans as we have for 90 years."

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