The "Friendly Confines" will never be the same.
The first phase of a massive 26-week Wrigley Field renovation project that will inextricably change the look and feel of the historic stadium kicks in this weekend.
"The reality is that tonight is the last night of Wrigley Field as we know it," Ald. Tom Tunney said.
The rehab begins with the center and right field bleachers, which will be torn down and rebuilt with more space. A large video board will be erected in left field, along with additional outfield signs.
The project is moving forward despite contentious negotiations and legal threats from adjacent rooftop owners worried that their view will be blocked by the outfield signs.
"We've got people who are 100 percent pro, we've got people who are very disappointed in the results and all the negotiations, and then there's what I think is the majority of people who fall somewhere in the middle," Tunney said.
"We got additional security, we got more remote parking, and we got infrastructure money in our ward, so I think at the end of the day we all have to move forward."
The Cubs plan to pump $500 million into renovations at Wrigley Field over the next four years.
"Nostalgia buffs should know the look and feel of Wrigley Field won't change when they come back into this ballpark. There'll be new steel, there'll be new concrete, new bleacher seats, but the framework of the ballpark is not changing," Cubs spokesman Julian Green said.
The first phase of renovations is expected to completed by Opening Day 2015.
