Chicago Sun-Times Article – April 7, 2006

Looks Nice, But at What Price?

By CAROL SLEZAK Staff Reporter

It took many years of brow-beating, threats and contentious negotiations with the city and the neighborhood, but the Cubs got their way. And when you see the finished project today, you might ask yourself what all the fuss was about. It turns out they’re just bleacher seats.

And they look just fine.

Sure, the bleacher expansion caused the sidewalks on Sheffield and Waveland to narrow some. But the Cubs chipped in with lighting and also paved the sidewalks in a nice orange-red brick that matches the brick on the stadium. And that big gate in right field, which will allow fans on the street to catch a glimpse of the field, was a nice touch.

Sure, the bleachers are higher now – that’s what happens when you add about 1,800 seats to the outfield — but they’re not too, too high. Well, maybe some of the views from the neighboring rooftops have been adversely affected, but a new ordinance gives the rooftop owners the option to build higher if they want. So everyone’s happy, right?

Never mind that eight tall speaker poles — four in right field and four in left – mysteriously appeared on top of the bleachers during construction. The poles weren’t in the original plans approved by the city, and they further obstruct several of the rooftops’ views. But what are the Cubs’ “rooftop partners” going to do about it now?

"I haven't spoken with the rooftop owners directly, but I know there has been some discussion about the [speaker poles]," Mark McGuire, vice president of business operations for the Cubs, said Thursday. "And I don't think what they were saying was, 'We love them.' "But we tried to be as honest about the changes as we could. We think the rooftops are extremely viable. We want them to do well. We just don't want their interests to come before ours."

The speakers, which will come in handy for events such as concerts, which the Cubs hope to do more of, do not severely diminish the rooftop views, McGuire said.

Beth Murphy, owner of Murphy's Bleachers on Sheffield as well as a nearby rooftop, considered closing her rooftop when she realized the expansion project obstructed the view. She has had second thoughts, however, and plans to open the rooftop in mid-May. "We'll give it a go and see how our customers feel about it,'' she said. "We'll see if we still have a viable rooftop.''

The view from Murphy's rooftop always has been partially obstructed -- "sometimes that's a good thing,'' Murphy said -- but the bleacher renovation has made it worse.

"We can't tell how it will look when people are in the stands and they stand up,'' she said. "And the speakers were not in the plans the neighborhood saw. I don't know why the speakers have to be so high.''

Murphy wasn't complaining. Like she said, "There's plenty of business for everyone.'' The Cubs say the expansion project, which also included the addition of a private group restaurant in center field (called the "Batter's Eye Lounge''), an elevator and additional restroom facilities for men and women, cost $13.5 million. During a media tour Thursday, many observers commented that the Cubs did a nice job of blending the old with the new.

The rooftop owners signed a 20-year agreement with the Cubs a few years back, making them business partners -- of a sort. Per the agreement, the rooftop owners give the Cubs 17 percent of their annual revenue as a royalty. And what do the Cubs give the rooftop owners? Well, they're no longer threatening to shut them down, which apparently goes a long way with most rooftop owners.

"I'm happy,'' said Dave Abrams of Skybox on Sheffield. "It looks to me like they've done a beautiful job with the [bleacher expansion].''

And what about the speaker poles? Did the Cubs have a sinister motive? Was this one more chance to stick it to the pesky rooftops, just for fun? After all, the Cubs once put up windscreens for the sole purpose of blocking the rooftops' views.

"It caught us all by surprise,'' Abrams said. "But I don't think it was their intention to block anyone. And if they enhance what the Cubs are trying to do, then so be it.''

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The Cubs, who recently have started referring to Wrigley Field as the "Wrigley Field Campus'' on their Web site and in presentations, are working to ban street vendors on the sidewalks surrounding the stadium, including on Addison and Clark. The Cubs say it's necessary because the narrowed sidewalks on Sheffield and Waveland leave no room for vendors.

Some fear the Cubs are trying to sanitize the Wrigley Field Campus. Does their long-term plan call for buying up all the real estate around the stadium? At present, one can only wonder. But as Cubs fans know, baseball is a business. The best fans can do, the best a neighborhood can do, is hope to keep the business honest.

The expanded bleacher section also has a new name, the "Bud Light Bleachers.'' And, yes, it's about money. As McGuire explained, the Cubs understand that "a lot of people vote against commercialism, but we are competing off the field as well as on the field.'' And if the bleachers now include 253 "bleacher box seats'' in right field, many of them with obstructed views, that cost $43 each ($54 for prime dates)? Well, the Cubs plan to install a TV in that section to help people see the game.

Don't blame the Cubs for high ticket prices -- tickets are about supply and demand. But you can't put a price tag on everything. Take the ballhawks, for example. They have been a fixture on Waveland and Sheffield for decades. They're as much a part of the ballpark experience as the scoreboard and the ivy. But they might not have a future.

"The whole game has changed,'' said Mike Diedrich, a filmmaker who for the last three years has been shooting a documentary, "Ballhawks,'' about the Wrigley Field hawks. "The [bleacher expansion] will cut down the numbers of balls that come out to the street.''

But why should anyone care about the ballhawks? If they fall victim to the bleacher expansion, oh, well. Let them buy a ticket for the games like everyone else. Maybe they'll catch a home-run ball in the stands.

"It's a slice of Americana,'' Diedrich said. "A lot of people know about balls coming out of the park, and it's one of the things that made Wrigley unique. In my mind, it's probably going to go away. Once the balls stop coming out, people won't be stopping by there anymore.''

Rich Buhrke, 59, has been hawking balls outside Wrigley Field for 46 years. Lately he has been battling back trouble. In light of the bleacher expansion, he is contemplating retirement.

"It's massively going to change the number of balls that make it out,'' Buhrke said. "We have to wait and see what complete dominance the new structure is going to have. But the left-center-field wall is so high now, it's almost impossible for a ball to get out, unless the wind is headed out of the south, straight out.''

Buhrke estimates the number of balls that make it onto the street will be "only 15 to 20 percent'' of what it was, maybe less. That remains to be seen. The Cubs have no desire to oust the ballhawks from the streets, McGuire said. In fact, the hawks might not be out of business. It all depends on the laws of physics. But Buhrke and the other hawks fear the worst.

"I'm a frustrated major-leaguer -- most of us are,'' said Buhrke, who works for Bass Pro Shops in Gurnee. "Even if you're on the other end of a home run, it's some kind of connection you make. It's such an escape.

"After all these years, to have that [taken away] ...''

Consider his words a reminder: Progress always comes with a cost.