agreed. i dont need forward thinking design (i.e. modern architecture). im fine with retro in this case...its the oldest park in the majors after all and offers a lot to work with. the problem is most of the renovation, as you mention, trends more towards Vegas than they do any sort of proud, noble design.

i mean, seeing the wrought iron just makes me wonder what someone with a true passion for the history of the ballpark could have done with it (and not just revenue opportunities). and im not the type of person to say it needs to look as it did in the 30s. i think there are a lot of opportunities to actually improve on the bones we already have in place. but theyve gone for the blandest, lowest-common-denominator option in nearly all cases.

think about it from the standpoint of someone who buys an old house and pours every bit of themselves into restoring it...bringing back the trimwork, going to architectural salvage yards to find the right door handles and clawfoot bathtub, ripping out carpeting and refinishing the original floorboards. and then imagine the person who buys the old home, guts it entirely, and makes the interior look like any other bland suburban McMansion, then flips it after 3 years. the Ricketts have essentially chosen option B.

like im just throwing ideas out there, but imagine Sullivan-esque ivy detailing throughout the park. have fun with the damn thing, leave it better than it ever was in the first place. rather than stripping all the joy out of it in the name of profit. dignify the structure rather than stripping it down in the name of BLEACHERS BY BUD LIGHT. if stadiums are our modern day churches, treat them as such!
https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com...127b56e5fd.jpg

i know this is all wishful thinking. i just cant help but feel it was such a missed opportunity. when nearly every park is going for BIGGER, FLASHIER, MORE OBNOXIOUS, there was a real chance here to do something special and unforgettable.

stadium's are our modern day churches, but consumerism has replaced baseball as the national religion, so.......... it kinda all fits together.

i know, and im being willfully naive. i just cant help but wonder the outcome had we gotten an owner sensitive to the park's history and appeal. it could have been worse, but it also certainly could have been so much better.

Cant say I agree. at all. Lets at least wait and see what Wrigley looks like when all is said and done. Have you guys been to games?

Yes, the LF video board is slightly too large, but other than that I think the revenue generating aspects are in line with the character of the building. They've done a heck of a job. Plus, when the outfield lights are installed next year, the LF board will fall in better scale with the park.

What more do you want?

^ We want the Cubbies to have a championship team. If that happens, then screw it all, let the Ricketts do what they want

^^ I think some of us want that.

^^^^^Via Chicago, Wrigley Field, as you know, is landmarked... so any changes not only need to be approved by the Landmarks Commission but must adhere to the original design/intent of the ballpark...

As far as I can tell, the wrought iron recently installed does this exactly... any ideas of adding Sullivanesque detailing or other design direction not part of the original will be a non-starter...

For better or worse, Wrigley has always been a very utilitarian structure and part of the intent of the Landmark designation is to pretty much keep it that way...

It's getting harder and harder to get home after work nowadays. The Red Line starts getting jammed on Cubs nights around 4:30 in the afternoon. When I moved to the area they had a 30 night game limit. Now it's a 46 game limit with an additional 4 to 7 concerts plus (next year) another 25 events in the plaza. Walking home is pretty dicey too with all the suburban drivers prowling around looking for parking. Oh and the Ricketts are leaning on the neighborhood to allow the team to shut down Addison and Clark to traffic on game days (81 a year). Coming after they've essentially shut down Sheffield and Waveland as well (after narrowing the streets by getting the land for free, by designating funds they'd already committed as a payment).

somehow I missed outfield lights being part of the plan

Yes, I went to two games last years and have been to well over a 100 over the last 35. Do I need more credentials?

And the left field video board wasn't as bad as I was expecting. It still detracts from the park and ruins one of the best vista's from inside a stadium in the world but hey, some people need to see kiss-cam's and donut races to entertain themselves. The right field jumbo tron I find to be completely redundant and overkill.

I judge this by how I would judge any other mega-project in the city. How it interacts with the neighborhood. Is it forward thinking while still being somewhat refined.

Yes, there are positive aspects of this rebuild. The fact that an ugly McDonalds and parking lot are being developed. That is where any praise will really end for me. From the renders it looks like the adjacent buildings would literally fit better in the middle of a nondescript Dupage County parking lot.

The cosmetic changes to the park itself like the fencing? Meh. It's at best a missed opportunity. I guess it could have been done worse but I find the effort to be unimaginative, lazy, and probably relatively cheap compared to other reclad options. And at the end of the day they will have not ANYTHING about obstructed viewing in the park that effects the upper 1/3 of the lower deck. Will circulation in the park really be greatly enhanced?

But hey, there wasn't money to be made by actually letting the 7k of your fans see the entirety of the game by spending the dollars to deal with such minor details. That would cost REAL money with little pay off. But spend a 100 million in a tacky hotel/signage/jumbo trons that will return 250 million and you can beat your chest about all your "improvements" to your own park and suckers will slurp it up.

I reject that false choice. Love the Cubs. Loathe the Ricketts.

^^ I honestly think this is impossible. Ricketts came in and immediately changed the whole culture of the franchise. He went out and got Theo. Theo is doing his thing. And now the Cubs are favored to win the WS.

As for your comment about "kiss cam"... well this tells me you aren't completely educated on the topic. The Cubs has repeatedly said they will not use either screen this way and proved it last year. That right field board shows the line-ups all game. (green background).

Despite how much I love your profile picture and your handle, I can't help but think you are only a fan of the history of the club/wrigley and not of the game.

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so that wasn't so dead after all

Wow, quite a construction zone we'll have going on in that area

at least it will get rid of the blight of over sized billboards atop many of those buildings. I don't know how Chicago allowed so many commercial districts to be inundated with these monstrosities.

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When was there ever any thought the hotel project was dead?

EDIT: I see you were referencing Addison and Clark project

This really fucking sucks. :hell:

^ My only complaint is that is has way too much parking.

It was approved long before the TOD ordinance. Had in been proposed a few months ago, we would have had a much better project (from a parking ratio perspective)

My only complaint is this isn't Rosemont. We don't need these massive entertainment/retail complexes ruin this city. This, that shit on Roosevelt, and that New City bullshit down on Clybourn... pitiful.

https://assets.dnainfo.com/generated...extralarge.jpg

This is just wretched. Pure sterile suburban crap.

A fitness center, clothing retailers, and a movie theater complex in the center of this city's biggest bar district? I really hate all this change coming to Wrigley.

http://www.addisonandclark.com/image...ing_eastLG.png

Seriously, how the fuck is the shit allowed???? :hell:

yeah that's what Southport is for.. napervillization