City orders new inspections for Wrigley, threatens shutdown
August 19, 2004

CHICAGO (AP) -- City officials ordered a new round of inspections at Wrigley Field on Thursday and threatened to block Monday night's game if the team can't prove the ballpark is safe.

Buildings Commissioner Stan Kaderbek said he ordered the review after a reporter noted during an interview Wednesday that some repairs at the ballpark were ``shoddy.''

``I said that certainly the reports we received from the Cubs don't indicate that,'' Kaderbek said, but he said he was concerned enough that he ordered new inspections.

Chunks of concrete have fallen from Wrigley Field's upper deck on at least three occasions since June, forcing stadium officials to install nets to protect Cubs fans and to conduct full inspections of the upper deck and mezzanine levels in July.

Kaderbek said the Cubs have until noon Monday to show that 90-year-old Wrigley is safe.

``If we can't get independent verification, to my satisfaction, that the repairs were made and that they were made correctly, and that it is not an issue of shoddy workmanship, we will not have a game on Monday night at Wrigley Field,'' he said.

The Cubs are scheduled to play the Milwaukee Brewers on Monday night.

A spokesman for the Tribune Co., which owns the Cubs and the ballpark, referred all calls on the matter to the team.

The Cubs said two separate reports have concluded the ballpark is safe. The team also said it would comply with the city's request.

``If the city chooses to make further inspections, it will find what two structural engineers have already found -- Wrigley Field is safe and sound,'' the team said in a statement.

Updated on Thursday, Aug 19, 2004 8:20 pm EDT