Friday Night Lights

By Benjy Lipsman in News on Aug 5, 2008 1:51PM

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