Wrigley Field
Wrigley Field is a ballpark on the North Side of Chicago, Illinois, United States. It is the home ballpark of Major League Baseball's Chicago Cubs, one of the city's two MLB franchises. It first opened in 1914 as Weeghman Park for Charles Weeghman's Chicago Whales of the Federal League, which folded after the 1915 baseball season. The Cubs played their first home game at the park on April 20, 1916, defeating the Cincinnati Reds 7–6 in 11 innings. Chewing gum magnate William Wrigley Jr. of the Wrigley Company acquired the Cubs in 1921. It was named Cubs Park from 1920 to 1926, before changing its name to Wrigley Field in 1927. The stadium currently seats 41,649 people.
In the North Side community area of Lakeview in the Wrigleyville neighborhood, Wrigley Field is on an irregular block bounded by Clark and Addison streets to the west and south, and Waveland and Sheffield avenues to the north and east. Wrigley Field is nicknamed "The Friendly Confines", a phrase popularized by Hall of Fame shortstop and first baseman Ernie Banks. The oldest park in the National League, it is the second-oldest in the majors after Fenway Park, and the only remaining Federal League park. The park was designated a National Historic Landmark in 2020.
Wrigley Field is well-known for its ivy-covered brick outfield wall, distinctive wind patterns off Lake Michigan, the red marquee over the main entrance, and the hand-turned scoreboard. The stadium is situated in a primarily residential neighborhood without parking lots, and spectators have views from the rooftops behind the outfield. Additionally, it was the last Major League Baseball park to have lights installed for night games, in 1988. From 1921 to 1970, the stadium was also home to the Chicago Bears of the National Football League, and from 1931 to 1939, it was the home of the Chicago Cardinals of the National Football League. The elevation of its playing field is above sea level.
History
Baseball executive Charles Weeghman hired his architect Zachary Taylor Davis to design the park, which was ready for baseball by the home opener on April 23, 1914. The original tenants, the Chicago Whales, came in second in the Federal League rankings in 1914, and won the league championship in 1915.Later in 1915, Weeghman's Federal League folded. The resourceful Weeghman formed a syndicate including chewing gum manufacturer William Wrigley Jr. to buy the Chicago Cubs from Charles P. Taft for about $500,000. Weeghman immediately moved the Cubs from the dilapidated West Side Grounds to his two-year-old park.
In 1918, Wrigley acquired the controlling interest in the club. In November 1926, he renamed the park Wrigley Field. In 1927, an upper deck was added, and in 1937, Bill Veeck, the son of the club president, planted ivy vines against the outfield walls after being inspired by the ivy planted at Perry Stadium, Indianapolis.
In June 2024, Wrigley Field announced a multiyear partnership with Invenergy, and their community solar company, Reactivate, to launch clean and renewable energy systems at the park. The agreement was to establish the stadium as an "anchor" for community solar projects in Wrigleyville, marking the ballpark's first ever use of renewable energy.
Renovation
The Ricketts family aggressively pursued a Wrigley Field renovation since buying the team and the stadium in 2009. During the annual Cubs Convention in January 2013, the family revealed the "1060 Project," which called for a $575-million, privately funded rehabilitation of the stadium to be completed over the course of five years. The planned proposal was vast and included, among other things, improvements to the stadium's façade, infrastructure, restrooms, concourses, suites, and press box, moving the bullpens and clubhouses, and the addition of restaurants, patio areas, batting tunnels, a jumbotron, and an adjacent hotel, plaza, and office-retail complex.After months of negotiations between the team, local Alderman Tom Tunney, and then-Mayor Rahm Emanuel, the plan obtained the endorsements of both the city's Landmarks Commission and Plan Commission before receiving final approval by the Chicago City Council in July 2013. To help fund the project, the team planned to more than double the amount of advertising signage in and around the stadium to about, including additional signage to be placed beyond the outfield walls – a move that was opposed by many owners of the rooftop clubs surrounding the stadium, who worried that such signage would obstruct their sightlines. Before work on the project began, the team wanted the rooftop owners to agree not to pursue legal action challenging the construction and continued to negotiate privately with them – offering to reduce the size and number of signs to be built to gain their assent. The team could not come to terms with the rooftop owners, who had a lease agreement with the team until 2023 in exchange for paying 17% of the gross revenues. In May 2014, the Cubs announced they would pursue the original 2013 plan to modify the park. Over the course of the next three years, the Ricketts family began to purchase many of the rooftop locations.
"1060 Project" Renovation
Phase one of the "1060 Project" began on September 29, 2014. During the offseason, the bleachers in both outfields were expanded and the stadium's footprint was extended further onto both Waveland and Sheffield Avenues. A Jumbotron scoreboard was added to the left-field bleachers. A video scoreboard was also added in the right-field bleachers, and the parking lots along Clark Street were excavated for underground players' locker rooms and lounges.After the close of the extended 2015 season, work began on phase two of the project.
Exterior renovations of the park sought to restore design elements present before the 1960s. These details include ornamental muted-green grillwork and red Ludowici terra cotta roofing.
Phase three of the 1060 Project was completed before the start of the 2017 season. The left- and right-field bullpens were relocated to enclosed areas under the bleachers, the brick walls were extended toward the field, and new seating was added in the vacated bullpen areas. A visiting team "batting tunnel" was also added. Partial façade replacement and concourse restoration were completed along Addison Street, along with structural improvements to the right-field bleachers. The outfield turf was replaced just weeks before the start of the season. The Cubs Plaza building just to the west of Wrigley was finalized, and the "Park at Wrigley", the area above Cubs players' dressing rooms, was in use for fans before and during games. Construction of Hotel Zachary along the west side of Clark Street was ongoing.
The fourth phase of improvements began at the conclusion of the 2017 season. The dugouts were moved farther down the left- and right-field foul lines to make room for two of the four new luxury clubs. The seating area behind home plate was reconstructed to locate another of the new clubs. The final upper-level club was planned for the 2019 season. The Hotel Zachary, just across Clark Street, was open for business in time for the Cubs' first home game on April 9, 2018.