Wrigley Field (Credit: Wikipedia)
The Chicago Cubs need to move away from Wrigley Field. No scare tactic threats to move, actually pack their bags and get the hell out of Wrigleyville.
It’s taken me a while to get here. The rooftop owners have bitched and moaned and fought this from the beginning and the planned expansion has reached the point of comical, not in a funny way, in a sad way. It’s ridiculous, to think that the rooftops would even let things get to here. Without the Cubs, the rooftops don’t exist. Without the Cubs, there is no Wrigleyville, just Central Lakeview. Their properties/business venture will not be worth the paper their contract with the Cubs is printed on.
“If” this actually happens, which I’m not 100% sold on, more than the rooftops will be suffering. The neighborhood is named after the ballpark, after all. Bars and other businesses will suffer greatly, the residents will ultimately suffer, their wallets especially. The neighborhood will go back to being nothing special, with no big draw, except maybe Wrigley Field itself but only as a museum of sorts, until it ultimately falls down due to disrepair and old age. It is a century old this year.
The Cubs have heard proposals from suburbs all over the area. They may not have truly listened, but they have most surely heard them. I big parcel of land, out-of-the-way a bit, and in 3 years time, New Wrigley Field is born. The Ricketts would be smart to make it a Shiny new replica of Wrigley Field but with a classic look. Picture Camden Yards in Baltimore. Keep as much of the look of the current Wrigley as is possible, while still being able to have all the modern amenities other ballparks have had for years. No obstructed view seats, but with a jumbotron in left field, and most importantly, no nagging rooftop owners or an alderman with his own agenda muddying the waters of progress.
I’ve reached a place in all of this, where who is right or wrong is completely irrelevant. That which is in the best interests of the Chicago Cubs is all that matters to me, as a Cubs fan. I want them to do the things to help them succeed on the field. Ideally, nowhere on that list is putting up with rooftop owners who would rather cut of their own nose to spite their face.
