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The Cubs requested and were granted a special meeting with the Commission on Chicago Landmarks.  It is scheduled for  Thursday, June 27, 2013 at 10:00 a.m. in City Hall. 

See more at: http://www.44thward.org/site/epage/144621_1026.htm

 
Emory recently performed a statistical analysis that basically shows that attendance at Wrigley has nothing to do with team performance. This is different than all other MLB teams. The owners are either bluffing or foolish. 
Read More....
Emory Sports Marketing Analytics (@sportsmktprof)


 
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Rendering based on Cubs presentation photo and zoning application filed 5/8

 
So far, survey responses show that residents and business owners are on board with the restoration of Wrigley Field and development of the surrounding property.  They want a hotel - but they don't want it to be 3x taller than the surrounding buildings.  They want development of the plaza, but also specific restrictions on allowed signage and noise.  There are ongoing concerns about traffic, parking, trash and congestion.

Residents know they bought property next to Wrigley Field and understand what that means, but they argue that the Ricketts family also bought property with specific zoning restrictions and should not be able to throw the municipal code out the window just because they own the cubs.  As recently quoted by a number of media outlets, including Ricketts' owned DNAinfo, the Devil's in the Details.

Here are many of the responses when we asked residents & business owners to identify the their top 3 concerns about the changes proposed by the Cubs:
Congestion  -   Crime  -  Jumbotron  -  Parking  -  Traffic  -  Trash  -  Noise and visual pollution with too much marketing/advertising outside Wrigley Field  -  TOO big of a hotel, with MORE bars, not good  -  Changes in our Alley and sidewalks  -  Too many drunken rowdy people  -  Additional Night Games/Concerts: NO MORE!  -  Size of the proposed hotel: Too high, bring down to 65-70 feet!  -  Do not want a Pedestrian Bridge over Clark  -  Hotel size  -  Hotel entrance and loading dock locations  -  Post-game drunkenness in the neighborhood  -  Trash on the streets and alley ways after a game  -  Beautification  -  Crime  -  Traffic  -  Trash  -  Overall neighborhood upkeep  -  Rowdy teenagers late at night  -  Police coverage  -  Timely completion of all projects  -  Updated stadium  -  Parking  -  Hotel/Restaurant  -  Better facilities for players  -  Nightgame/Concert income potential for the team  -  Crowd control  -  On-field product  -  Continued support in the community  -  Traffic  -  parking  -  Parking.   -  Drunkenness/ rowdy crowds  -  Construction  -  Parking  -  Parking Enforcement  -  Crowd Control  -  Increased Congestion  -  Increased Street Closures  -  Traffic  -  Crowd management of drunken fans  -  Police presence  -  Too much signage  -  Lack of respect for the rooftop owners and neighbors  -  More Congestion  -  More Noise  -  Mandated use of Remote Lots  -  Improvements inside the park  -  Encroachment on Public Way and Quality of Life for Neighbors outside the Park  -  NO taxpayer money or tax benefits.  -  Quality of life  -   Density  -  height/density precedent for future developers  -  traffic managers and other city vehicles parked on sidewalks on game days  -  Keeping Cubs in Wrigley  -  Keeping property values up  -  No new taxes  -  Parking  -  Night games  -  Security and police presence  -  Preservation of Historic Wrigley Field  -  We need a Hotel  -  Trash  -  Crime  -  Traffic  -  Feel of community  -  Traffic  -  Construction  -  Trash  -  Parking  -  Parking  -  Reducing the amount of empty storefronts  -  Safety  -  Costs passed onto consumer  -  Traffic  -  Trash  -  Obnoxiously behaved fans  -  Size and design of the hotel  -  Location of the entrance to the hotel.  -  Noise Pollution  -  Light Pollution  -  Disruption of a very unique community  -  I don't want Patterson to be a cul-de-sac  -  I don't want the beer garden or pedestrian bridge  -  I don't want the hotel  -  traffic control  -  neighborhood ""vibe"" and look being preserved  -  Preserving the charm of Wrigley while updating it  -   The destruction of a residential neighborhood   -   more people/traffic (due to new hotel)  -   street closures  -  Precedent setting up-zoning concern.  -  Traffic congestion.  -  I don’t want Advertising all over outside Wrigley and on the Hotel and Plaza  -  Hotel size  -  LED & Neon Signage outside of park  -  Use of sidewalk space for placement of jumbotron  -  Height of the hotel  -  Closing of the streets  -  Congestion/density  -  Increased traffic in the evening for night games.    -  More drunks in the area.    -  The historical integrity of Wrigley and the neighborhood.   -   Safety during day and evening games/concerts.    -  Traffic issues.    -  Friday late afternoon games  -  More night games and concerts  -  Parking   -  Street congestion  -  Security  -  Stadium improvements  -  Brown lot expansion   -  Brown lot rezoning  -  Additional night games  -  Brown lot expansion  -   Sale of alcohol outside the stadium  -  Signage outside of park  -  No bridge over Clark Street.  -  Neighborhood Protection  -  Parking Enforcement  -  Signage outside of park  -  Hotel entrance and staging locations  -  Hotel Height  -  Congestion  -  Wrigley Field  -  Commercial space  -  Not keeping people in control, ruining property/businesses (i.e., flower pots around outdoor dining)  -  Traffic  -  Congestion  -  More Requested Changes every Year

 
We all know about the controversy involving bright lights and advertising around Wrigley Field. The Lakeview Citizens Council is concerned the area may look like Times Square - but you can't walk around New York with open bottles of alcohol. Where in the United States can you walk though the streets from entertainment complexes to your hotel, drinking a beer in the glow of neon lights? Only in Las Vegas.... or maybe soon in Wrigleyville?

"Notwithstanding any provision of the Chicago Municipal Code to the contrary, all allowed uses of the Property and Sheffield Avenue (when permitted to be closed as set forth above) may be operated indoors and outdoors. Allowed uses shall not be subject to limitations in the Chicago Municipal Code, if any, regulating noise or prohibiting the playing of live or recorded music. No provision of the Chicago Municipal Code as applied to the Property, including, without limitation, restrictions on open containers and the sale and service of liquor, shall be deemed to prohibit open containers anywhere on the Property or on Sheffield Avenue (when permitted to be closed as set forth above) or to require screening or barriers anywhere on the Property, except at the perimeter of the Property as necessary to prevent the movement of open containers from the Property into the public right-of-way (other than Sheffield Avenue, as stated)."
See p. 73, Zoning Reclassification App No. 17730 at 1060 W Addison St, 3639-3659 N Clark St, 1101 -1103 W Waveland Ave, 3701-3709 N Clifton Ave and 3614-3640 N Clark St

This planned development is sounding more like the adult playgrounds of Las Vegas and less like the family-friendly plaza advertised. Maybe we can look forward to enjoying "movies in the park" and a farmer's market with our friendly Wrigley Field vendors yelling "Beer Here!"
 
We thought the plans called for an expansion of the Captain Morgan club AND a Jumbotron, more Ads, closing of Waveland and Sheffield on weekends, etc. Is this a record low attendance day, after the city nixed the Jumbotron idea?  Where are the buses, traffic, street vendors, crowds, police.....?  Another interesting observation..... aren't those rooftops on Sheffield missing something? 

Find the unmodified drawing here - it actually looks a lot better than the current structure and we appreciate that the new giant LED boards were included on this drawing, unlike some of the others - but is it realistic?  When do we get to see the renderings that show the whole picture?
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Photo modified to include proposed Jumbotron
 

Great Article By Cheryl Kent Special to the Tribune

Wrigley Field had it right from the start. An urban ballpark close to public transportation and holding around 40,000 people is the winning ticket. Wrigley may be battered but, as it approaches its centenary, it is still authentic.

So, with this real treasure, it is strange to see plans from the Cubs that would undermine Wrigley's best, enduring qualities by cocooning it in a suburban design and by fudging the line between what's real and what's not.

Read the full Story.....
 
CHICAGO — Wrigleyville residents have begun circulating petitions to ban beer and alcohol sales at the North Side ballpark, where night baseball games will begin on Aug. 8. Residents of the 31st precinct of the 44th Ward must obtain about 200 signatures in order to place the issue on the Nov. 8 ballot for a vote. Mike Quigley, vice president of Citizens United for Baseball in Sunshine (CUBS) and an aide to Ald. Bernard Hansen (44th), said the precinct has nine businesses with liquor licenses, including three held by the Cubs. Quigley said neighborhood residents want guarantees that the Cubs will not play more than 18 night games a year.

Chicago Tribune, July 28, 1988
http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1988-07-28/news/8801180266_1_wrigleyville-businesses-with-liquor-licenses-cubs


and YESTERDAY.....

A panel of Chicago aldermen today signed off on a plan to allow more night games at Wrigley Field.............Under the proposal, which could go to the full City Council for a vote Wednesday, the Cubs would be allowed to schedule 35 night games outright each season. The team would hold back an additional five night games to satisfy requirements of Major League Baseball’s national television contract.  If MLB used up those five and wanted more, the Cubs would need to get the OK from the the city's legal department or the City Council to schedule up to six additional night games.

Chicago Tribune, June 4, 2013
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/chi-crowd-packs-hearing-on-increasing-night-games-at-wrigley-20130604,0,1236940.story


 
What can we expect in Wrigleyville if the Blackhawks take the Cup again this year? Check out these pictures from 2010 in the Chicago Reader  -
Full Article: http://www.chicagoreader.com/chicago/blackhawks-win/Content?oid=1985717

Blackhawks Win! Wrigleyville, June 9, 2010 Roark Johnson, www.chicagoreader.com

 
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Photo Credit: http://www.thewrigleyblog.com/2013/05/jumbotron-mocked-up-at-wrigley-field.html
See More Photos & Read the full story @ http://www.thewrigleyblog.com/

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