Wrigley Renovation Thread

[SouthSideRyan]

Fulton County is 44% black, Cobb County, 26.

[J.R.]

Do you have knowledge of the Atlanta racial makeup by area? I only ask because in my limited experience in Atlanta I went to a shopping area North of Atlanta that was largely black and largely wealthy. If they are indeed moving from a primarily black to a primarily white area I would like to know, but I'm not just going to take a message board post as truth unless you can point me to something that supports your claim. I'm genuinely asking out of curiosity.

There are myriad sources on this matter (search for "Atlanta secession" and read up on Atlanta's black mayors.) The northern communities are by no means lily white nor are they racist in the classical southern sense (or 8 Mile Road northern sense,) but there is a clear conflict between whiter greater Atlanta and the black majority metro.

[Wilson A2000]

There's a county just northeast of the city called DeKalb that is 54% African American and only 33% white. That's probably what you are referring to. Probably Perimeter Mall. A lot of wealthy African Americans in DeKalb. Cobb County, where the new stadium is going to be, roughly has those percentages flipped. DeKalb is the only place I know where there is a strong African American presence north of the city. Yes the place where the stadium is going to be a lot more caucasian compared to where Turner Field is.

 

The move was really about one thing - it was really hard to get to games and the Braves are getting tons of money due to it. I hope they get a MARTA train stop at the new location. There is a huge vacant tract of land in DeKalb County that used to be a GM plant. There were always rumors that the Falcons might move there and people wondered why the Braves didn't go there.

 

Cobb County is kicking in $450 million to get the team. Wow.

[J.R.]

Once the Braves leave there will once again be no actively-used MLB park in which the Cubs have won a postseason series. (Tiger Stadium was the other.)

[georgiacubfan]

The driving force behind this move is much the same as the Wrigley renovation project: enhancing revenue streams so they can continue to be competitive. On weeknights the Braves with a 90+ win team were drawing 13 or 14000 per night in a stadium they have no ownership interest in and in which they don't get all the proceeds from the overpriced concessions. They were competitive primarily because other than their poor Uggla and BJ signings they had a talented, mostly young and salary controlled team. They have limited options as far as enhancing revenue. They have the same issues with their TV contract that the Cubs do and for longer. They've chosen to move where the bulk of the ticket buyers are AND where they will have an ownership interest in the stadium and I would imagine in the mixed use development as well.

 

Liberty Media, the ownership group is known for its frugality so they aren't going to spend a great deal of money buying up the blighted area around Turner. Just how much would they have to buy up to secure the area adequately to make it feel safe for fans to go to the park where officially sanctioned parking is limited and ripoff lots and car break ins are apparently a common occurrence? According to sports media here, the City made promises to spend money to encourage development around Turner much as they did when the Georgia Dome was built and nothing was ever done on either front. Granted the Braves are rolling the dice to some extent because as you've pointed out, the traffic in that part of town in my experience is not a great deal better than the downtown connector around gametime, there still is no public transportation, and this is definitely going to alienate a portion of their fanbase.

[NOLA]

Once the Braves leave there will once again be no actively-used MLB park in which the Cubs have won a postseason series. (Tiger Stadium was the other.)

 

By the time that thing is built we damn well better have won a postseason series somewhere else.

[SouthSideRyan]

Braves attendance is pretty weak, but their season low was 18,295, and they only drew less than 20,000 in 7 games.

[jersey cubs fan]

Braves attendance is pretty weak, but their season low was 18,295, and they only drew less than 20,000 in 7 games.

 

Tickets sold versus butts in seats. Same with the Cubs.

[Banedon]

Atlanta's mayor said Tuesday that the city will demolish Turner Field after the Braves leave for a new stadium in the suburbs in 2017.

[Clem Fandango]

Got a friend who lives in a neighborhood near Turner Field. It is not a safe area. Can only imagine it will get worse once the Braves exit.

[LaSalle.St.Station]

I always thought US Cell field would be abandoned after 25 years or so. The stadium was the last of the walled/fenced in symmetrical parks built before Camden Yards redefined park construction towards retro looking fields. The cell bridged the gap with their upper deck and seat color modifications but it still doesn't integrate with the surrounding area and thus doesn't spur any development outside the park unless its subsidized.

 

The fact that the State of Illinois shut down the Cubs request for subsidies seems to doom any new park for the white Sox for years to come.

[UMFan83]

I always thought US Cell field would be abandoned after 25 years or so. The stadium was the last of the walled/fenced in symmetrical parks built before Camden Yards redefined park construction towards retro looking fields. The cell bridged the gap with their upper deck and seat color modifications but it still doesn't integrate with the surrounding area and thus doesn't spur any development outside the park unless its subsidized.

 

The fact that the State of Illinois shut down the Cubs request for subsidies seems to doom any new park for the white Sox for years to come.

 

I don't see the White Sox moving from there any time soon. Have you seen the deal they have with ISFA (owners of the park)?

 

Mr. Reinsdorf's franchise pays just $1.5 million in annual rent to the state, which owns the South Side ballpark, while keeping gross receipts for ticket sales, parking, concessions, signage and merchandise operations — including a soon-to-be-opened Chicago Sports Depot store and Bacardi at the Park, an adjacent restaurant that opened last spring.

 

The White Sox do not pay rent on the properties, even though the Illinois Sports Facilities Authority is paying the debt service on the restaurant project.

 

So I don't believe the Sox contributed anything to the building of the park, or the extensive renovations over the last decade and pay only $1.5 mil a year. Just a year or two ago, the ISFA spent $7 million to build a new restaurant attached to the park, and allow the White Sox to keep all the profits from it. The ISFA asked JR for some of the profits, JR said no, and that was that. Meanwhile the Cubs want to spend $500 million of their own money and they have to jump through numerous hoops to make it happen.

[Sammy Sofa]

Meanwhile the Cubs want to spend $500 million of their own money

 

This is clearly not the case.

[Guest]

Don't be obtuse, it's incredibly clear what he's talking about and he's right.

[Sammy Sofa]

Don't be obtuse, it's incredibly clear what he's talking about and he's right.

 

You have prospect lists; I only have #poortomricketts.

[davell]

Don't be obtuse, it's incredibly clear what he's talking about and he's right.

 

You have prospect lists; I only have #poortomricketts.

Prospect lists are to be shared and treasured by all.

 

 

Signed, #PoorTomRicketts

[jersey cubs fan]

Don't be obtuse, it's incredibly clear what he's talking about and he's right.

 

You have prospect lists; I only have #poortomricketts.

Prospect lists are to be shared and treasured by all.

 

 

Signed, #PoorTomRicketts

 

Never took Tom for a socialist

[LaSalle.St.Station]

Reinsdorf is very adept at spending State money, the only money he put up ( besides paying the water bill every month) is allowing the naming right's proceeds to back the renovation bonds . The Tribune Co should have demanded to be part of any public funding scheme at the time this was hatched. Now they (cubs) are on the outside looking in at Reinsdorf eating at the State public trough.

 

At some point the hotel tax that backs the isfa should be reapportioned based on the percentage that each team generates hotel stays in the taxing district. Meaning the cubs should get at least 25% of those taxes to back facility upgrades in an around Wrigley.

 

Ricketts should be sounding a constant drum beat about correcting this missallocation of hotel taxes even though his current projects are going forward using other funding mechanisms.

[Burtonbell]

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/politics/clout/chi-advertising-arch-across-clark-unveiled-as-part-of-wrigley-field-renovation-20131121,0,5756216.story

 

http://www.trbimg.com/img-528eb0c0/turbine/chi-wrigley-branded-archway-20131121/573

 

New arch on Clark street instead of the pedestrian building. And the roof top owners are still bitching about moving the street, their views, and blah blah blah.

[apete6]

If this doesn't get resolved this off-season, they HAVE to at least release some renderings of a Rosemont stadium, don't they?

[Guest]

If this doesn't get resolved this off-season, they HAVE to at least release some renderings of a Rosemont stadium, don't they?

I think the family has already sunk a lot of money around the park. I don't think anyone would take them seriously.

[apete6]

If this doesn't get resolved this off-season, they HAVE to at least release some renderings of a Rosemont stadium, don't they?

I think the family has already sunk a lot of money around the park. I don't think anyone would take them seriously.

 

True. You would think that a family of billionaires would, you know, be good at business. Apparently not. These clowns are making it look more and more like they are the dumb rich kids that are just living off of the old crazy dad's smart business decisions. Trust fund kids run my favorite team (and a lot of franchises in sports, I know). Awesome.

[ConstableRabbit]

If this doesn't get resolved this off-season, they HAVE to at least release some renderings of a Rosemont stadium, don't they?

I think the family has already sunk a lot of money around the park. I don't think anyone would take them seriously.

 

True. You would think that a family of billionaires would, you know, be good at business. Apparently not. These clowns are making it look more and more like they are the dumb rich kids that are just living off of the old crazy dad's smart business decisions. Trust fund kids run my favorite team (and a lot of franchises in sports, I know). Awesome.

Can we please end this unfounded narrative?

 

Tom Ricketts is the CEO and Chairman of a successful investment bank. He's not some "rest and vest" [expletive] who hasn't made a name for himself. Questionable decisions as Cubs owner? Yes. Are those decisions due to him being born rich? Probably not.

[Guest]

Plus a sunk cost is a sunk cost. If it ended up making more financial sense for them to build elsewhere (which is dubious) they wouldn't shy away from doing so because of money they've spent around Wrigley.

[Cubswin11]

If this doesn't get resolved this off-season, they HAVE to at least release some renderings of a Rosemont stadium, don't they?

I think the family has already sunk a lot of money around the park. I don't think anyone would take them seriously.

What have they done other than buy the McDonalds property and put money into renderings of what the stadium could look like? I honestly don't know and am asking. I'd imagine, if they were smart, any other land/building purchases that they may be making are contingent on fudging for/renovations beginning.

Edited November 22, 2013 by Cubswin11