Cubs seek to add up to 80 premium seats

November 30, 2004

BY FRAN SPIELMAN City Hall Reporter

For the second time in two years, the Cubs want to move a brick wall at Wrigley Field to add premium-priced seats -- this time to enclose three rows down the first-base line now separated from the playing field by an unsightly chain-link fence.

If the Commission on Historical Landmarks gives the go-ahead, 48 seats near the visitors bullpen currently given away to photographers, VIPs and officials of Major League Baseball would be sold to the public for roughly $250 apiece, along with 32 additional seats to be added behind the new brick wall.

The presence of a tarp used to cover the field during rain delays prohibits the Cubs from installing premium-priced seats on the third-base side.

As expected, the Cubs are also asking the landmarks commission to approve an even bigger money-maker: a permanent rotating advertising board behind home plate that could generate anywhere from $3.5 million to $5 million a year.

The sign would mirror for fans at Wrigley ads already visible to viewers of nationally televised games.

'Every effort to do this tastefully'

Twenty-nine major league ballparks, including two of the most storied -- Boston's Fenway Park and New York's Yankee Stadium -- already have permanent advertising behind home plate.

The rolling, canvasslike sign temporarily attached to the brick wall behind home plate will be 10 feet long and 30 inches high. It will be installed in time for the 2005 season, paving the way for the Cubs to sell lucrative ads and change them every half-inning.

"We understand the argument of those who wish we didn't have to do this," said Mike Lufrano, vice president of community relations for the Cubs. "But it's part of our effort to continue to find ways to generate revenue that allows us to compete on the field and preserve our 90-year-old ballpark.

"Just as when we added the [213] seats behind home plate, we're making every effort to do this tastefully -- in a way that is consistent with all of the changes that have kept Wrigley Field such a great ballpark for so many years."

Go-ahead expected Thursday

Commercial advertising at Wrigley is currently limited to concourses beneath the stands and cupholders attached to seats. Ads on Wrigley's historic scoreboard and on the marquee at Clark and Addison were voluntarily removed years ago. Ads on Wrigley's ivy-covered outfield walls have repeatedly been ruled out.

Because historic portions of Wrigley have already been granted landmarks status, the sign and seat changes need approval from the Commission on Historical Landmarks. That's expected to happen Thursday now that city planners have signed off.

Chicago Sun Times