Deadline extended for Wrigley talks

October 5, 2002

BY FRAN SPIELMAN CITY HALL REPORTER

Closing in on an agreement that could pave the way for Wrigley Field expansion, the Daley administration Friday extended until Oct. 23 the deadline for landmarking the stadium.

The 17-day extension is designed to give the city and the Cubs time to resolve issues standing in the way of stadium expansion.

"We're not at an agreement yet, but we're getting closer," said Planning and Development Department spokesman Peter Scales.

In negotiating sessions over the last 10 days, sources said, the Cubs have talked to the city about phasing in additional night games and about a revised expansion of cantilevered bleachers that would be supported by only a handful of columns close to the stadium wall.

Mark McGuire, vice president of business operations for the Cubs, welcomed the extension, the fifth since a preliminary recommendation to landmark Wrigley Field on Nov. 1, 2000.

The city and the Cubs have been working feverishly to resolve outstanding issues, but "we just couldn't get it done" in time to meet Sunday's deadline, he said.

"We have a lot of pieces here that have to come together," he said.

McGuire declined to discuss the revised bleacher expansion, except to say no specific design has been shown to the city. He could not say whether all of the issues--landmarking, more night games, bleacher expansion, community protections and compensation for a strip of city-owned land next to the ballpark--could be resolved by Oct. 23.

The Cubs plan to make their case to a broader group of Wrigleyville residents at a meeting Monday of a blue-ribbon committee chaired by local aldermen.

"We've been at this for two years. ... But I do think we're making progress, and we'll continue to work on it," McGuire said.

Two months ago, Mayor Daley ruled out additional night games in 2002 and rejected sidewalk support columns, effectively cutting the proposed, 2,000-seat bleacher expansion in half. He has since expressed flexibility and opened the door to phasing in more night games once the city gets beyond its current budget crisis.

Earlier this week, Wrigleyville community leaders urged City Hall to forge ahead with the landmarking process after rejecting the Cubs' $100,000 contribution to remedy neighborhood problems.

"While the Cubs have admittedly made a nice gesture, with the initial contribution of some funds to be earmarked for community protections, it falls short. It's not enough for us to say that the [deadline for landmarking Wrigley] should be expanded," said Gregg Kiriazes, president of the Lakeview Citizens Council.

Council Vice President Charlotte Newfeld added: "It is time to bring the community back into the process--by that we mean hearings on landmark status. The whole city is interested in what happens to the ballpark itself."

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