Wrigley Expansion - Wrigley Field, Chicago Cubs

Wrigley's neighbors help pave way for Buffett shows

By Gary Washburn and and Jimmy Greenfield
Tribune staff reporters

January 20, 2005, 10:50 AM CST

Concerts at Wrigley? Bring the neighbors.

Acommunity group Wednesday notified aldermen of its support for two possible Jimmy Buffett concerts at Wrigley Field this year, after a narrow vote in favor of the shows.

Though some members of the board of East Lake View Neighbors objected to the potential crowds and congestion, others think the concerts would help local businesses and provide an entertainment option for Wrigleyville residents on Labor Day weekend, said Bonnie Leracz, head of the group.

Chicago Cubs officials, meanwhile, have talked with Buffett, "but nothing is final yet," said Michael Lufrano, the team's vice president of community affairs.

The team also has had "very preliminary" discussions with the city about obtaining permission to hold the concerts, he said.

Neighborhood residents interviewed Wednesday didn't seem too bothered by the addition of two more evening events to Wrigley's busy summer schedule.

"I'm a huge Cubs fan, so the more night games the merrier," said Carrie Szczudlo, 22. "People in the area seem to care, and I don't understand why. The more you can do at Wrigley, the better."

If the details can be worked out, the Cubs have offered to share $100,000 of the concert proceeds with local schools and make available up to 3,000 tickets for purchase by neighborhood residents, Lufrano said.

Beth Murphy, owner of Murphy's Bar and a member of East Lake View Neighbors, said the Cubs' offer to give money to schools helped sell the group, but Murphy said setting aside tickets for residents was a sharp move on the Cubs' part.

"I think that's very clever," Murphy said. "That's like inviting your neighbors to a party so they don't call the police on you."

Also key to East Lake View Neighbors' support for the concert was that the proposed act is "not Metallica, or anything like that," Leracz said.

No more than about 40,000 tickets would be sold, limiting the crowd to the number typically attending a sold-out ballgame, and game day traffic control and sanitation measures would be in effect, Lufrano said.

Though the stage would be somewhere on the playing field, the exact location had not been determined, officials said. Wrigley Field and the Cubs are owned by Tribune Co., which also owns the Chicago Tribune.

If rooftop businesses surrounding Wrigley want to open for the concert, they also would need special city permission. Under an agreement with the Cubs, which covers baseball and other events, the rooftop businesses would be required to give the team 17 percent of their ticket proceeds. Beth Murphy said the rooftop owners also would donate money from proceeds they made off any concerts.

Whether residents would agree to additional concerts could hinge on the experience with Buffett, Leracz said.

"We haven't put ourselves out there beyond this one," she said.

The neighborhood has had experience with altering the schedule on the fly. The Cubs played five additional night games during the 2003 playoffs.

"If you were here when we were in the playoffs against the Braves and Marlins, that was pretty chaotic down here," said Brandon Archambeau, 24. "It'd be a lot crazier than a Jimmy Buffett concert."

But Sally Soliman, 26, says not everybody will be pleased. Her neighbors who own cars are going to have to fight for parking spots two more nights, and she also will feel the burden.

"It's one more thing to go, 'Do I really want to leave the house?' " Soliman said.

Ald. Tom Tunney (44th), who first heard from the Cubs about their idea eight months ago, said Lakeview residents would likely enter a lottery for the right to buy the 3,000 tickets set aside by the Cubs.

He doesn't think this is the beginning of repeated requests for extra night events at Wrigley Field. Tunney said that Cubs President Andy MacPhail is a big Buffett fan and that played a role in the bid for the Buffett concert.

Tunney said the idea for a donation came from last summer's Sting concert in Grant Park, which he said netted local after-school programs $100,000. He wanted to make sure the Cubs gave something to the community in exchange for the neighborhood giving up what otherwise would be a quiet Labor Day weekend.

"To put a concert in there certainly helps the businesses, but what does it do for the residents?" he said.

"This is more special than let's just get a concert at Wrigley and fill it," Tunney said. "I really think the chemistry of Buffett at Wrigley is unique."