Wrigley Toyota Sign Clears Another Hurdle
Rendering of the possible Toyota sign. The City's Landmarks Commission gave Cubs owner Tom Ricketts the OK for that proposed Toyota sign to go up in left field at Wrigley Field. Ricketts had pulled out the big guns for the presentation, bringing along Cubs legend Ernie Banks to appeal to the Commission in favor of the sign. Said Mr. Cub, "It is important to have this sign to keep this wonderful place alive . . . for another 100 years." By "keep this...place alive," Banks meant provide a few million dollars in extra revenue for the team. Because even though they have some of the best attendance numbers along with the most expensive tickets in baseball, signing players like Alfonso Soriano and Milton Bradley to bloated, awful contracts is no way to balance the checkbook.
Of course, there are still a few more battles left before the sign goes up. Next up, the proposal has to pass by both the City's Building Committee and then the City Council. And the Cubs won't have the support of their own alderman, Tom Tunney (44th) who said the sign is "not in keeping with the character of the neighborhood and the spirit of the city's landmark ordinance."