Wrigley Expansion - Wrigley Field, Chicago Cubs

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Wrigley closer to special status
City panel backs landmarks plan

By Gary Washburn
Tribune staff reporter

January 27, 2004, 10:27 PM CST

Wrigley Field moved a step closer to landmark status Tuesday when a City Council committee advanced the designation, but a deal to permit additional night games at the Chicago Cubs' ballpark remained tied up in negotiations.

The council's Landmarks Committee voted to recommend passage of an ordinance conferring landmark designation, but with provisions that would allow the Cubs to construct about 200 new box seats between first and third bases and open the door to other possible alterations, including expansion of the ballpark's bleachers section.

The Cubs are "not wholeheartedly in support of this, [but] they are not opposing it," said Ald. Thomas Tunney (44th), whose ward includes the ballpark. The portion of the ordinance that permits the added box seats and other contemplated changes provides a "livable, tenable situation" designed to limit red tape when the alterations are requested, he said.

Though a bleachers expansion is envisioned, "this in no way approves a bleachers expansion over the public right-of-way because only the council has the authority to do that," said Brian Goeken, a deputy city planning commissioner.

Under one design proposed by the team, the bleachers would extend over public sidewalks bordering Wrigley.

Ald. Burton Natarus (42nd) and Ald. Bernard Stone (50th) said the provision for changes is unprecedented in landmark ordinances.

The measure "really goes beyond landmark designation," Natarus said. "I would rather have them come in with a plan [for changes] after landmarking and let the Landmarks Commission decide" whether to approve.

But the ordinance was applauded by speakers who addressed the committee.

"I am here today to wholeheartedly support the designation," said David Bahlman, president of the Landmarks Preservation Council of Illinois. "We have found that what the Cubs were proposing in terms of expansion was reasonable and did not necessarily affect the historic fabric and structure" of the ballpark.

The Lake View Citizens Council and an affiliate, Citizens United for Baseball in Sunshine, also are in favor of the designation, said spokeswoman Charlotte Newfeld.

Past changes to the ballpark may have been sensitive to Wrigley's historic nature, but short of landmark protection, there would be no guarantees for the future, Newfeld said.

"Things change," she said. " You don't know what is going to happen next year and who sells what."

No Cubs officials attended the meeting and Andy MacPhail, the team's president, was unavailable for comment.

The Cubs are owned by Tribune Co., which also owns the Chicago Tribune.

On a related front, a measure under which the Cubs would provide money to address congestion and other game-related problems in the neighborhood around Wrigley in return for additional night games appeared stalled.

No council committee meetings have been scheduled to consider an ordinance detailing the night-games-for-neighborhood-protections agreement, and "we are waiting for the mayor's office to do the final negotiations," Tunney said.

The Cubs are expected to earn more money with the additional box seats and a possible settlement with rooftop businesses bordering the park, but, Tunney said, the "primary revenue generator" to pay for the neighborhood measures is expected to be additional night games.