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When Wrigley Field joined the 20th century and added lights to the stadium in 1988, part of the team's agreement with the city banned night games on Fridays or Saturdays. Now the Cubs want that ban lifted.
The Cubs and the city originally agreed to 18 night games per season at the Friendly Confines. Later amendments have increased that total to 30, but the weekend ban remains in place.
The Cubs claim that their desire for playing a few weekend games under the stars is to give players more rest before playing following late flights back to town. And we guess we understand that—a flight arriving in the wee hours of the morning followed by a 1:20 start the next day doesn't leave much time for sleep.
On the other hand, can you imagine the craziness of Wrigleyville if there were a game going on in addition to the typical weekend madness? There's nowhere enough parking (will lots gouge fans for $100?) and even in Wrigleyville there aren't enough bars to accommodate that size of a crowd. Chances of having weekend night games are even less likely than the Cubs winning a World Series.
Photo by The New No. 2
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I've never understood the parking situation in Wrigleyville. Why not simply build a vertical lot like at the Century or go underground? It's not like the area is hurting for money.
I'd wager the likely stumbling block at the Wrigleyville landowners/garage-mavens who make quite a dime off the "$40 EZ-OUT!" game.
Oh the employees who make over a million dollars a year can't stand to play baseball in the day? Suck it up, players.
hey artdude they play 162 games in a season that doesnt leave you many days off.
No other team in baseball plays more day games so its puts us at a disadvantage. We need all the help we can get...it has been a 100 years.
is the world series comment really necessary you douche? I keep forgetting, the Sox are a Yankees-esque dynasty.
Why not more night games? People who live in Wrigley knew what they were getting when they moved there. I like a good day game, but I also like the option of having a night game on a Friday or Saturday. I live close enough to Wrigley, and I get the traffic and congestion on game days and nights. I'm in favor of more night games!
yeah, they should put parking lots down like Comisk...I mean the Cell. Cause that looks soooooooo good, those big black tar pads spread out for acres.
"the Sox are a Yankees-esque dynasty."
WTF? notice i say "WE" and "US" that means i'm a cubs fan retard
i was referring to Benjy's original post, not yours.
The day game after night game thing is a bullshit excuse. If anything, its an advantage for the Cubs because they are USED to playing day games, and the rest of the league is not.
It's just the bull crap excuse the team came up with to hide the real motivation for night games.
Which is Money. It always is. Especially with Zell trying to suck every penny out of Trib company before sellng off the assets and declaring bankruptcy.
Night games get higher TV ratings. Higher ratings = greater charges for ad time. Plus, night games have more commercial time. Therefore, more money to line Sam Zell's pockets.
It's all about the money. It's not about making the Cubs more competitive. The Cubs didn't get any better the last time they added night games, and they won't this time either.
But, the people of Chicago lose out on a tradition that is almost uniquely Chicago now, skipping out on work to go to a ball game.
As a Sox fan, though, I hope they get the night games.
The main reason the Cubs are so much more popular than the Sox is because of the unique Wrigley/Cubs experience.
For years, they were always on TV when kids got home from school or while we were sitting around during summers with nothing to do.
Even though I'm a Sox fan, I watched a lot more Cubs baseball growing up.
Night games destroy that. Kids won't grow up exclusively Cubs fans because of watching the Cubs every afternoon on WGN. The Cubs are reduced to competing with the Sox and whatever is on ESPN when they play night games, in terms of new fan development at least. And, downstate, they have to compete directly with the Cardinals.
The Cubs day game experience for the working stiff crowd is gone.
The Sox stadium is more comfortable, cheaper, easier to access. And the Cubs don't have the advantage in developing a fan base. The Sox have an advantage as they typically field better teams.
Next thing you know, they will either destroy Wrigley by renovating it so much it loses the ambiance (a la Yankee Stadium in the 70's) or they tear it down.
Which would turn them into just another loser also ran team.
so you believe night games will lead to the cubs being an unpopular team? OK guy, whatever you say. Does it get old being jealous of the Cubs? I still don't get how anyone could be jealous of the Cubs as a franchise but it seems people are. So your basic argument is that adding a few more night games will lead to a loss in young cubs fans and therefore an eventual decrease in cubs fans everywhere, then a complete and drastic renovation of Wrigley Field? With theories that convoluted you must work in local government.
First of all yes, a lot of people now in their 20s and 30s came home from school in april, may and september and the Cubs were on. That's what happened to me. But that was also 15 years ago. Kids don't come home and watch baseball. They flip on one of the 200 channels on cable, or they turn on their PS3 or their ipods. There is so much more out there that is grabbing a kid's attention.
Second, the Cubs of all franchises, are fully aware of their traditions, the uniqueness. You think you're just going to do away with all day games? No, because that would kill the tradition.
Third, the whole day game experience has changed, but people still go to Cubs games during the day and at night, and on the weekend and they still watch Cubs games (ratings are up higher than the Sox this year). No matter what schemes the Sox or their fans try to think up or cook up, it won't make the Cubs any less popular. I'm not saying they're more popular because that kind of baseless, unquantifiable argument is the kind of thing Sox fans love to engage in. But the popularity of the Cubs is something that's not going to change unless the general popularity gets down below soccer. In which case your precious White Sox will also not be popular.
Third, the whole day game experience has changed, but people still go to Cubs games during the day and at night, and on the weekend and they still watch Cubs games (ratings are up higher than the Sox this year).
I'm sure being owned by the biggest media power in the city and one of the biggest in the country has had nothing to do with that over the years, nosiree..
I've never understood the parking situation in Wrigleyville. Why not simply build a vertical lot like at the Century or go underground? It's not like the area is hurting for money.
Because the traffic situation is way over capacity as it is. You put more cars on the streets and the streets are just gonna be parking lots too. I would totally support a garage to get rid of surface lots, but you can't really bring more cars in.
Nav...local ratings for Cubs games are higher than the Sox this year. and i believe the ratings were higher for the sox either last year or in 2006. my point is that all these hopes and dreams of some Sox fans to have the cubs become less popular are just not going to come to fruition. i don't think the cubs are any morepopular than the sox, i think their popularity, like their respective fanbases, are equal. more night games isn't going to make the cubs any less popular
Does it get old being jealous of the Cubs? I still don't get how anyone could be jealous of the Cubs as a franchise but it seems people are.
Oh, I get how. They thought winning a title would swing the balance of popularity over toward the Sox. But even with a title, here's what the Sox have:
Mean-spirited lunatic manager? Check.
Douchebag TV announcers? Check.
White trash fan base? Check.
Ho-hum, nothing-special stadium? Check.
Silver and black unis 'cause they think they're the fuckin' Raiders? Check.
They're a joke. They're second class in Chicago because everything about them in second class, title or no title.
Here's a tip for all you fans of any team with a chip on your shoulder: The more time you spend talking about the team you (probably rightfully) feel inferior to, the more the other team becomes "the story", and the more inferior you get. So please, do everybody a favor and ignore us and our team like we quite happily do you and yours.
+1000 to people who like to slap. (slaphappy and reverend slaphappy.)
-1000 to more night games.
Oh... Gee... There's an actual topic here. Wow, missed that.
About more night games? Ehh... I don't really care one way or the other. I think that there definitely is an effect on the Cubs as an organization, but it's probably not as dramatic as some would make it out to be. But the concern for the neighborhood seems a bit misplaced, too: It's gonna be a clusterfuck (though a sometimes fun one) on weekend evenings no matter what happens.
i think the point is that it'll be even more of a clusterfuck with night games. take an average fridya or saturday night in wrigleyville when there's no cubs game. i was there one saturday and i couldn't believe how crazy it was...like Lincoln Ave between webster and belden crazy. maybe even worse. there are a lot of bad bars up there. say what you will about bernies or murphy's or even cubby bear and yakzies, but they're nowhere near as bad as the Clark & Division drivel that is Red Ivy, Moe's Cantina and the dreaded John Barleycorn. And I can't forget Harry Caray's either, that's just Hi-Tops with a new, Cub-friendly logo. You already have a lot of people up there, then add in a Cubs night game crowd that's fresh off 7 innings, as opposed to the afternoon crowd that's probably half gone by 8 pm. that being said i think an occasional friday or saturday night game would be pretty cool.