Cubs pushing Wrigley Field into 21st century

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This will bother the traditionalists, but might appeal to anyone who cant put down their BlackBerry. The Cubs always seem to provoke strong reactions whenever they make changes to Wrigley Field.

Trying to steal some business away from the surrounding rooftops, the Cubs will build a patio deck in the right-field bleachers and install an LED board thats roughly 70-feet wide.

Team executives unveiled the plan on Saturday at the Cubs Convention and expect everything in place by Opening Day. The LED signage will show game informationpitch count, player pictures and statisticsbut probably not instant replay.

President of business operations Crane Kenney said it would be challenging to play video there. Budweiser, the patios name sponsor, will be part of a rotating series of advertisements. These changes will not require approval from the city.

This isnt touching really a landmarked feature, Kenney said. The contours of the bleachers arent really impacted and it really doesnt touch the scoreboard or the ivy or any of the other aspects that are protected.

The Cubs intend to collapse six rows of bleachers into three and raise the seats, to improve the obstructed views into center field that slowed ticket sales there.

Marketing chief Wally Hayward said the area will be available for corporate outings and birthday parties and can accommodate up to 150 guests. The tickets will include food and drinks.

This reconfiguration wont change the distance to hit a home run and shouldnt impact wind patterns. These arent exactly the Green Monster seats dropped on top of Fenway Park. The bleachers will stay at the same height.

The Cubs will also experiment with dynamic pricing in the bleachers this season. This is a method used in the airline industry, where the earlier you buy your tickets, the better deal youre going to get. The team wont allow it to drop below the season-ticket price.

Chairman Tom Ricketts said the Cubs are not lobbying to add more night games to the schedule, though they would like to get some flexibility from the city that would allow them to play on Friday nights.

Approaching the ballparks 100th anniversary in 2014, the Cubs still havent secured the financing for their grand renovation plans. In the meantime, the Ricketts family recently purchased the McDonalds lot opposite the Wrigley Field marquee for a reported 20 million.

We just decided that property in Wrigleyville doesnt come up for sale that often, Ricketts said. I think one of the things the previous ownership (Tribune Co.) maybe missed on was making sure they bought some of the land around Wrigley to better control the environment.

The restaurant will remain there for the time being. Long term, Ricketts said he wont know what his familys developers will do with the land on Clark Street until the stadium renovation plans are finalized.

It could be everything from parking, shopping, dining, hotel use, Kenney said, all the things that we think (are probably) a gap in the Cubs ecosystem for new amenities.

Until Wrigley Field gets renovated, the Cubs do not expect to be awarded an All-Star Game. With a few modern touches, the place wont look the same in April. Team officials know Cubs fans wont be shy letting you know what they think.

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