By Sarah Langs
CSNChicago.com contributor
The bleacher bums are back.
After undergoing renovation over the offseason and into the first month of the 2015 season, the left- and center-field bleachers were back in business on Monday night at Wrigley Field.
The bleachers debuted in their signature green, with a pink twist. It was “Pink Out” night at Wrigley Field in honor of breast cancer awareness, so each fan with a bleacher seat was given a pink shirt.
Players took the opportunity to interact with the returning cache of fans almost immediately. After gates opened at 5:05 p.m., pitchers in the outfield began tossing balls to particularly insistent fans. Starlin Castro hit the first BP home run into the new bleachers once fans arrived -- into one of the upper rows of left-center field, caught on a fly by a fan with a mitt.
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The renovated bleachers aren’t just the old space with new paint. There are new facilities and services throughout the outfield, in addition to new benches. The front row of the bleachers features the “Left Field Well,” with stools and room for groups to stand during the game. The well is split into three sections, each section holds between 15 and 25 people.
At the top of the left-field section sits the new group porch, which is set to open on June 11. The new area provides a higher angle for a wide view of the entire park, and fits up to 100 people. For the next few homestands, it’ll be open to fans with a regular bleacher ticket to check out the new view.
People in the bleachers means there’s a need for food -- and a lot of it. The renovated outfield area has a new concession stand at the top of the left-center set of bleachers, plus one on the concourse level directly below. There’s also a new area for concession stands called The Platform, which is not yet completed.
MLB
That area, behind center field, at the bottom of the original Wrigley scoreboard, will feature multiple concession stands upon its completion in July. An additional eight-to-10 feet of width was added in some parts of the concourse during construction, making The Platform possible.