While covering a neighborhood meeting earlier this week, I got wind of a new billboard that the Cubs organization were trying to get installed in Wrigley Field. I wrote the story here: Wrigley Field Work: New Banners Out Front, Refreshed Scoreboard, New Billboard in Left Field, Batting Cage Improvement, New Umpire Dressing Room, and Redone Restrooms for Opening Day. Here’s a snip:
Lufrano also mentioned a permit request for new sign in Left Field. He said (and for all you serious Wrigley watchers, I may be getting this wrong, so feel free to correct me) that the sign will be placed “in the only place where they don’t have an agreement with owners” of rooftops across the street.
Oddly enough, you can see in a map of the Wrigley Field business licenses (yes, there is a special type of license issued by the City for Wrigley Field rooftops), there is a gap in left field, right between seven licenses and two other licenses. I’m guessing that’s where the sign will go.”It’s all about the revenue”, said Lufrano. He also said that the sign will be understated, much like “the Under Armor signs on the outfield doors“. One reason he said that they are doing this is that the Cubs “the only team in baseball that gets zero public money.”
Today Blair Kamin (a hero) and another Tribune reporter covered the story as well, adding details on the content of the sign: Cubs owners swing for the fences with proposed giant sign: Cubs plan to put Toyota ad above left-field bleachers. Beating Blair Kamin to an architectural story… not a bad day 🙂
