Pimp My Wrigley
New owners have restoration ideas
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Wrigley Field will be turning 100 years old soon, and the potential new owners have a birthday makeover in mind.
It looks like the Ricketts could be the new owners of the Chicago Cubs, pending approval from the MLB and the courts. If the sale goes according to plan, the billionaire family plans to spruce up Wrigley Field.
The iconic stadium will be celebrating its 100th anniversary in 2014 and stands a good chance of hosting the All-Star Game that year. In honor of the event, the new owners would like to unveil a $250 million makeover to the ballpark.
The renovation plan, known as "Wrigley 2014," proposes new concourses, concessions, skyboxes and a club seating lounge.
Perhaps the most welcome addition though will be new washrooms. (Does this mean no more troughs?)
Also in the works is a pedestrian promenade that would be lined with retail stores and upscale restaurants.
Among all these new additions though, the same brazenly drunken frat-boy fans will still be in place.
It should be noted that nothing has been authorized by the Ricketts just yet. After all, the Wrigley deal has already cost them $900 million, and they may be a bit hesitant to shell out even more money in a troubled economy.
"Presuming Tom and the family get this deal done and Major League Baseball approves them, then they'll sit down and look at all of the Wrigley plans and see what they want to do going forward," said Ricketts family spokesperson Dennis Culloton, reports the Sun-Times.
And while it may be a coincidence, one can't help but notice just how closely the 100th anniversary makeover comes to the potential Chicago 2016 Olympics. Also taking into account Shedd Aquarium's new oceanarium, the Art Institute's new Modern Wing, and the glass ledge on the "Willis" Tower, it seems as though all of the city of Chicago is getting a facelift, for better or worse.
Matt Bartosik is the editor of Off the Rocks' next issue and a "between blogs" blogger.
Copyright NBC Owned Television Stations / NBC Chicago
Posted Wednesday, Jul 8, 2009 - 10:02 AM CST
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