Wrigley Renovation Thread

[seanimal]

Looks like Heisenberg was dipping into grandpa's moonshine again last night.

 

I was quite disappointed to see all the threads bumped by one sarcastic comment in each. Hope it was a good night!

No one asked you what you think. SO [expletive] YOU

 

ftfy

[Guest]

Waveland and Sheffield Street Transfer

Dear Wrigley Field Supporter,

 

As we move forward with plans to renovate and expand Wrigley Field, we want to keep you up-to-date with activities around the ballpark, as we prepare for construction this fall.

 

This week, portions of Waveland and Sheffield avenues will be closed as part of a land transfer from the City of Chicago. Soon, the City of Chicago will begin relocating underground water and sewer infrastructure in preparation for the renovation and expansion of Wrigley Field. As the season concludes, we will begin the Budweiser Bleacher expansion project and anticipate completion by Opening Day 2015.

 

Please visit www.wrigleyfield.com for more information and ongoing expansion updates.

 

Just got this in an email. Not sure if it's a STH thing or some other mailing list I'm on (maybe from signing the petition).

[jersey cubs fan]

Waveland and Sheffield Street Transfer

Dear Wrigley Field Supporter,

 

As we move forward with plans to renovate and expand Wrigley Field, we want to keep you up-to-date with activities around the ballpark, as we prepare for construction this fall.

 

This week, portions of Waveland and Sheffield avenues will be closed as part of a land transfer from the City of Chicago. Soon, the City of Chicago will begin relocating underground water and sewer infrastructure in preparation for the renovation and expansion of Wrigley Field. As the season concludes, we will begin the Budweiser Bleacher expansion project and anticipate completion by Opening Day 2015.

 

Please visit http://www.wrigleyfield.com for more information and ongoing expansion updates.

 

Just got this in an email. Not sure if it's a STH thing or some other mailing list I'm on (maybe from signing the petition).

 

I got it as well and I'm pretty sure it's just the same mailing list they send out other stuff from, upcoming schedules and giveaways etc.

[Guest]

is it weird that they haven't done a public groundbreaking when this is pretty much the beginning of construction (and literally breaking ground)

 

i mean they even did one for that playlot a few weeks ago

[jersey cubs fan]

is it weird that they haven't done a public groundbreaking when this is pretty much the beginning of construction (and literally breaking ground)

 

i mean they even did one for that playlot a few weeks ago

 

Those things work when a rundown lot gets upgraded but not so much when a street is being taken over or a current building is being altered.

 

Plus, a groundbreaking there is just going to provide a forum for the opponents to voice their oppositions in front of multiple media types, including non-beat writers.

[Banedon]

Call off the renovation! Burn Wrigley to the ground!

 

http://www.si.com/mlb/2014/08/22/cubs-giants-protest-upheld-rain-tarp-spiders

[Clem Fandango]

Call off the renovation! Burn Wrigley to the ground!

 

http://www.si.com/mlb/2014/08/22/cubs-giants-protest-upheld-rain-tarp-spiders

 

http://i.imgur.com/RMsnqCF.gif

[Gmoney08]

Call off the renovation! Burn Wrigley to the ground!

 

http://www.si.com/mlb/2014/08/22/cubs-giants-protest-upheld-rain-tarp-spiders

 

WTF are those spiders up there for though!

[seanimal]

Call off the renovation! Burn Wrigley to the ground!

 

http://www.si.com/mlb/2014/08/22/cubs-giants-protest-upheld-rain-tarp-spiders

 

those look like orb weavers, which are the coolest spiders imo. and they are not giant, that one picture makes it look like a tarantula lol. anyway, they make bad ass webs and eat lots of flying bugs. that's prime real estate for them, people shouldn't be surprised that they're there. they provide the same utility to humans as bats, except with an exoskeleton

[SouthSideRyan]

Call off the renovation! Burn Wrigley to the ground!

 

http://www.si.com/mlb/2014/08/22/cubs-giants-protest-upheld-rain-tarp-spiders

 

Exterminators must've wanted health insurance.

[Gmoney08]

Call off the renovation! Burn Wrigley to the ground!

 

http://www.si.com/mlb/2014/08/22/cubs-giants-protest-upheld-rain-tarp-spiders

 

Exterminators must've wanted health insurance.

 

LOL..........

[Guest]

 

Wrigley Blog ‏@WrigleyBlog 1m

Sheffield shut down. Wrigley work imminent.

 

i think those people should probably move their cars soon

[Banedon]

 

Wrigley Blog ‏@WrigleyBlog 1m

Sheffield shut down. Wrigley work imminent.

 

i think those people should probably move their cars soon

 

I kinda hope it's the rooftop owners cars in a passive-aggressive protest.

[Guest]

http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/ct-wrigley-tax-credit-0905-biz-20140904-story.html#page=1

 

A large financial piece of the Chicago Cubs' $375 million renovation of Wrigley Field remains unsettled after the team made significant revisions to its plans this year, including more outfield advertising.

 

At stake is up to $75 million in federal tax credits the Cubs are counting on to upgrade the 100-year-old ballpark.

 

But the National Park Service, which manages the tax program with the IRS, has not approved key elements of the project, including the controversial five additional outfield signs the team has proposed.

 

In a memo to the Cubs obtained by the Tribune, the agency expressed concern about advertising overkill at Wrigley, which is known for its ivy-covered outfield walls, hand-turned scoreboard and intimate dimensions as opposed to typical corporate billboards at every other baseball stadium.

 

In a statement, the Cubs said that it is "normal for there to be changes to design and construction as a project evolves and we are working with" the Park Service to finalize approval for those changes. The team said the entire project has been approved by the city of Chicago, and it intends to start construction at the end of the season.

 

The Cubs added that a majority of the restoration and expansion of Wrigley Field has received initial approval from the Park Service.

 

The Cubs are not required to get final certification of their rehabilitation plans before starting work. But the Park Service in general cautions property owners that any work begun before getting formal approval is done at their own risk of losing potential tax credits. If such work is subsequently deemed not to meet the Park Service's standards, then the entire project may be disqualified for consideration of benefits from the federal government.

 

The Cubs applied for federal historic-preservation tax credits last year, a story first reported by the Tribune. The financial incentive is equal to 20 percent of qualified rehabilitation costs.

 

"The National Park Service decisions on each amendment await review of the additional information and will take into account whether the overall project continues to meet the Secretary of Interior's Standards for Rehabilitation," spokesman Michael Litterst wrote in an email.

 

In September, Mike Jackson, an architect with the Illinois preservation agency, recommended the Wrigley renovation for tax credits. In an email he sent to a Cubs official, Jackson said, "The overall program and treatments to the building show excellence in preservation design."

 

He also addressed several new additions the Cubs proposed, such as the video scoreboard. Jackson said the Jumbotron is "architecturally compatible" with the stadium.

 

"Wrigley Field, even with the new scoreboard and supplemental signage, will have far less signage than other baseball stadiums," Jackson wrote.

 

Jackson said in the email that the most pressing preservation concern for the state was not the video scoreboard but the new sales pavilion on the southeast corner of the stadium, where the Captain Morgan Club stands. Jackson said that while the design was compatible with the stadium, the location of the pavilion was on a "very important street corner" that historically was open space.

 

He approved the addition because it is "relatively small and viewed on the whole is more like a vestibule or side porch would be on a smaller structure."

 

The Cubs first proposed the five additional outfield signs to the Park Service on Feb. 28. The Cubs also informed the agency of proposed new seating and the relocation of the bullpens.

 

On March 31, the Park Service gave its preliminary approval of the renovation but also spelled out several conditions the Cubs had to meet to qualify for the tax credits. No. 1 on the list of stipulations had to do with outfield advertising.

 

The Park Service approved the left-field video scoreboard and a right-field script sign that the team proposed last year. But the agency withheld judgment on the additional signs the Cubs added to their project at the end of February.

 

In May, the Cubs gave the Park Service renderings and architectural plans for additional outfield signs and a second video screen, the relocation of the bullpens and expanded seating in certain areas, mainly in the bleachers. The team followed up in July with more architectural plans for the bleacher expansion, outfield lighting and other changes.

 

The team was hoping to have the Park Service give the team the thumbs up on the revisions before the landmarks commission voted on the changes in July, said Carol Dyson, chief architect and tax incentives coordinator at the state preservation agency.

 

"Much of the work being proposed can meet the guidelines," Dyson said. "The additional signage is something that's a little more complicated to evaluate. It has some visual impact."

[Guest]

There is no question that the signage is going to detract from the aesthetics, but JC, they own the place. Was there this much trouble when the city planned to drop a UFO on to Solider Field?

[MWV]

Unless I'm misreading, they aren't saying they can't do it. They (the National Park Service) are just saying that they might not give the Cubs a $75 million federal tax credit to help them do it.

[Guest]

There is no question that the signage is going to detract from the aesthetics, but JC, they own the place. Was there this much trouble when the city planned to drop a UFO on to Solider Field?

 

Yes, they own the place. That doesn't mean they're entitled to landmark related federal tax credits. Nothing unreasonable about this.

 

And Soldier Field lost landmark status after the renovations, so you could say there was.

[Guest]

"up to" is just 5 characters but a really important part of reading that article.

[Banedon]

There is no question that the signage is going to detract from the aesthetics, but JC, they own the place. Was there this much trouble when the city planned to drop a UFO on to Solider Field?

 

Yes, they own the place. That doesn't mean they're entitled to landmark related federal tax credits. Nothing unreasonable about this.

 

And Soldier Field lost landmark status after the renovations, so you could say there was.

 

Yeah, this is much more palatable than any of the rooftop/city garbage.

[Guest]

"up to' is just 5 characters but a really important part of reading that article.

 

 

Yeah. And pretty good chance that in the end, the additional signs might be/probably are? worth more than whatever amount they might lose on these credits.

[treebird]

i hope they don't give ricketts a dime

[Guest]

i hope they don't give ricketts a dime

+1

[Guest]

Also, not giving the tax credits is a way of not funding the renovations, because PTR and his kin are counting on the money.

[Guest]

Also, not giving the tax credits is a way of not funding the renovations, because PTR and his kin are counting on the money.

 

If you think this then why are you +1'ing Tree's post when you were just complaining about them giving the Cubs a hard time?

[jersey cubs fan]

They should not get any money and get all landmark status taken away.