City Plan Commission Approves Wrigley Field Renovations

By Chuck Sudo in News on Jul 18, 2013 10:50PM

Image credit: Chicago Cubs

The City Plan Commission approved the Chicago Cubs's proposal to renovate Wrigley Field during their Thursday meeting and the Cubs received a surprising endorsement of the plan from 44th Ward Ald. Tom Tunney in the process.

According to the Sun-Times, Tunney offered no objections to the plan after receiving assurances from the Cubs that negotiations on a pedestrian bridge connecting Wrigley Field with a boutique hotel would continue. Tunney also said he received assurances from the Emanuel administration that a 10-year moratorium on signage inside the ballpark would be in place, possibly avoiding a debate on the City Council floor about the $500 million plan.

Tunney said his objections to the plan and the latest round of concessions by the Cubs were made with a goal of "retaining the most valuable hospitality asset we have in the city." Still, opponents to the plan still objected to the hotel, the signage and the Ricketts family buying parcels of land around the park to become part of the plan. Wrigleyville resident Victoria Granacki said the hotel and office building were too big and decried the plan and "the 365-day drunk fest that will go with it." (Well, a bigger year-round drunk fest, anyway.)