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Wrigley Field is a
ballpark A ballpark, or baseball park, is a type of sports venue where baseball is played. The playing field is divided into two field sections called the infield and the outfield. The infield is an area whose dimensions are rigidly defined in part ba ...
on the North Side of
Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...
, Illinois. It is the home ballpark of
Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...
's
Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Division. Th ...
, one of the city's two MLB franchises. It first opened in 1914 as Weeghman Park for
Charles Weeghman Charles Henry Weeghman (March 8, 1874 – November 1, 1938) was an American restaurant entrepreneur and sports executive. Beginning in 1901, he began opening quick-service lunch counters throughout downtown Chicago. After failing to acquire the ...
's
Chicago Whales The Chicago Whales were a professional baseball team based in Chicago. They played in the Federal League, a short-lived "third Major League", in 1914 and 1915. They originally lacked a formal nickname, and were known simply as the "Chicago Fed ...
of the
Federal League The Federal League of Base Ball Clubs, known simply as the Federal League, was an American professional baseball league that played its first season as a minor league in 1913 and operated as a "third major league", in competition with the e ...
, which folded after the 1915 baseball season. The Cubs played their first home game at the park on April 20,
1916 Events Below, the events of the First World War have the "WWI" prefix. January * January 1 – The British Empire, British Royal Army Medical Corps carries out the first successful blood transfusion, using blood that has been stored ...
, defeating the
Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. The Reds compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Divisi ...
7–6 in 11 innings. Chewing gum magnate
William Wrigley Jr. William Mills Wrigley Jr. (September 30, 1861 – January 26, 1932) was an American chewing gum industrialist. He founded the Wm. Wrigley Jr. Company in 1891. Biography William Mills Wrigley Jr. was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvani ...
of the
Wrigley Company Wm. Wrigley Jr. Company, also known as Wrigley Company or simply Wrigley's, is an American multinational candy and chewing gum company, based in the Global Innovation Center (GIC) in Goose Island, Chicago, Illinois. Wrigley's is a subsidiary ...
acquired the Cubs in
1921 Events January * January 2 ** The Association football club Cruzeiro Esporte Clube, from Belo Horizonte, is founded as the multi-sports club Palestra Italia by Italian expatriates in First Brazilian Republic, Brazil. ** The Spanish lin ...
. It was named Cubs Park from
1920 Events January * January 1 ** Polish–Soviet War: The Russian Red Army increases its troops along the Polish border from 4 divisions to 20. ** Kauniainen in Finland, completely surrounded by the city of Espoo, secedes from Espoo as its ow ...
to
1926 In Turkey, the year technically contained only 352 days. As Friday, December 18, 1926 ''(Julian Calendar)'' was followed by Saturday, January 1, 1927 '' (Gregorian Calendar)''. 13 days were dropped to make the switch. Turkey thus became the ...
, before changing its name to Wrigley Field in
1927 Events January * January 1 – The British Broadcasting ''Company'' becomes the BBC, British Broadcasting ''Corporation'', when its Royal Charter of incorporation takes effect. John Reith, 1st Baron Reith, John Reith becomes the first ...
. The stadium currently
seats A seat is a place to sit. The term may encompass additional features, such as back, armrest, head restraint but may also refer to concentrations of power in a wider sense (i.e " seat (legal entity)"). See disambiguation. Types of seat The ...
41,649 people. In the North Side community area of Lakeview in the
Wrigleyville Lakeview (also Lake View) is one of the 77 community areas of Chicago, Illinois. Lakeview is located on the city's North Side and is bordered by West Diversey Parkway on the south, West Irving Park Road and West Montrose Ave on the north, N ...
neighborhood, Wrigley Field is on an irregular block bounded by
Clark Clark is an English language surname with historical links to England, Scotland, and Ireland, ultimately derived from the Latin ''clericus'' meaning "scribe", "secretary" or a scholar within a religious order, referring to someone who was educated ...
and
Addison Addison may refer to: Places Canada * Addison, Ontario, a community United States * Addison, Alabama, a town * Addison, Illinois, a village * Addison, Kentucky, an unincorporated community * Addison, Maine, a town * Addison, Michigan, a villag ...
streets to the west and south, and Waveland and Sheffield avenues to the north and east. Wrigley Field is nicknamed "The Friendly Confines", a phrase popularized by
Hall of Fame A hall, wall, or walk of fame is a list of individuals, achievements, or other entities, usually chosen by a group of electors, to mark their excellence or Wiktionary:fame, fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actu ...
shortstop and first baseman
Ernie Banks Ernest Banks (January 31, 1931 – January 23, 2015), nicknamed "Mr. Cub" and "Mr. Sunshine", was an American professional baseball player who starred in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a shortstop and first baseman for the Chicago Cubs between ...
. The oldest park in the
National League National League often refers to: *National League (baseball), one of the two baseball leagues constituting Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada *National League (division), the fifth division of the English football (soccer) system ...
, it is the second-oldest in the majors after
Fenway Park Fenway Park is a ballpark located in Boston, Massachusetts, less than one mile from Kenmore Square. Since 1912, it has been the home field of Major League Baseball's (MLB) Boston Red Sox. While the stadium was built in 1912, it was substantia ...
(1912), and the only remaining Federal League park. The park was designated a
National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a National Register of Historic Places property types, building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the Federal government of the United States, United States government f ...
in 2020. Wrigley Field's features include its ivy-covered brick outfield wall, distinctive wind patterns off
Lake Michigan Lake Michigan ( ) is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is the second-largest of the Great Lakes by volume () and depth () after Lake Superior and the third-largest by surface area (), after Lake Superior and Lake Huron. To the ...
, the red marquee over the main entrance, and the hand-turned scoreboard. The stadium is situated in a primarily residential neighborhood without parking lots, and spectators have views from the rooftops behind the outfield. Additionally, it was the last Major League park to have lights installed for night games, in
1988 1988 was a crucial year in the early history of the Internet—it was the year of the first well-known computer virus, the Morris worm, 1988 Internet worm. The first permanent intercontinental Internet link was made between the United State ...
. From
1921 Events January * January 2 ** The Association football club Cruzeiro Esporte Clube, from Belo Horizonte, is founded as the multi-sports club Palestra Italia by Italian expatriates in First Brazilian Republic, Brazil. ** The Spanish lin ...
to
1970 Events January * January 1 – Unix time epoch reached at 00:00:00 UTC. * January 5 – The 7.1 1970 Tonghai earthquake, Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity scale, Mercalli ...
, the stadium was also home to the
Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They are one of two remaining ...
of the
National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...
, and from 1931 to 1938, it was the home of the Chicago Cardinals (now the
Arizona Cardinals The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Cardinals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West division. The ...
) of the National Football League. The
elevation The elevation of a geographic location (geography), ''location'' is its height above or below a fixed reference point, most commonly a reference geoid, a mathematical model of the Earth's sea level as an equipotential gravitational equipotenti ...
of its playing field is above
sea level Mean sea level (MSL, often shortened to sea level) is an mean, average surface level of one or more among Earth's coastal Body of water, bodies of water from which heights such as elevation may be measured. The global MSL is a type of vertical ...
.


History

Baseball executive
Charles Weeghman Charles Henry Weeghman (March 8, 1874 – November 1, 1938) was an American restaurant entrepreneur and sports executive. Beginning in 1901, he began opening quick-service lunch counters throughout downtown Chicago. After failing to acquire the ...
hired his architect
Zachary Taylor Davis Zachary Taylor Davis (May 26, 1869 – December 16, 1946) was the architect of several major Chicago buildings, including St. Ambrose (1904) Comiskey Park (1910), Wrigley Field (1914), Mount Carmel High School (1924), and St. James Chapel of Ar ...
to design the park, which was ready for baseball by the home opener on April 23, 1914. The original tenants, the
Chicago Whales The Chicago Whales were a professional baseball team based in Chicago. They played in the Federal League, a short-lived "third Major League", in 1914 and 1915. They originally lacked a formal nickname, and were known simply as the "Chicago Fed ...
(also called the Chi-Feds), came in second in the Federal League rankings in 1914, and won the league championship in 1915. In late 1915, Weeghman's Federal League folded. The resourceful Weeghman formed a syndicate including the chewing gum manufacturer
William Wrigley Jr. William Mills Wrigley Jr. (September 30, 1861 – January 26, 1932) was an American chewing gum industrialist. He founded the Wm. Wrigley Jr. Company in 1891. Biography William Mills Wrigley Jr. was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvani ...
to buy the Chicago Cubs from Charles P. Taft for about $500,000. Weeghman immediately moved the Cubs from the dilapidated West Side Grounds to his two-year-old park. In 1918, Wrigley acquired the controlling interest in the club. In November 1926, he renamed the park Wrigley Field. In 1927, an upper deck was added, and in 1937,
Bill Veeck William Louis Veeck Jr. ( ; February 9, 1914 – January 2, 1986), also known as "Sport Shirt Bill" and "Wild Bill" was an American Major League Baseball franchise owner and promoter. Veeck was at various times the owner of the Cleveland Indian ...
, the son of the club president, planted ivy vines against the outfield walls after seeing the ivy planted at Perry Stadium, Indianapolis. In June 2024, Wrigley Field announced a multiyear partnership with
Invenergy Invenergy is an American based multinational power generation development and operations company. The company develops, builds, owns and operates power generation and energy storage projects in the Americas, Europe and Asia, including wind, solar, ...
, and their community solar company, Reactivate, to launch clean and renewable energy systems at the park. The agreement will establish the stadium as an "anchor" for community solar projects in Wrigleyville, marking its first ever use of solar power.


Renovation

The
Ricketts family Place names In the United States: * Ricketts, Iowa *Ricketts Glen State Park in Pennsylvania People * Ricketts (surname) Vessels * * Others * Ricketts baronets, Baronetcy in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom See also *Rickets Ri ...
aggressively pursued a Wrigley Field renovation since buying the team and the stadium in 2009. During the annual Cubs Convention in January 2013, the family revealed the 1060 Project, which called for a $575-million, privately funded rehabilitation of the stadium to be completed over the course of five years. The proposal was vast and included planned improvements to, among other things, the stadium's façade, infrastructure, restrooms, concourses, suites,
press box The press box is a special section of a sports stadium or arena that is set up for the media to report about a given event. It is typically located in the section of the stadium holding the luxury box and can be either enclosed or open to the ...
, moving the
bullpen In baseball, the bullpen (or simply the pen) is the area where relief pitchers warm up before entering a game. A team's roster of relief pitchers is also metonymically referred to as "the bullpen". These pitchers usually wait in the bullpen if ...
s and clubhouses, as well as the addition of restaurants, patio areas, batting tunnels, a
jumbotron A jumbotron, sometimes referred to as jumbovision, is a video display using large-screen television technology (video wall). The original technology was developed in the early 1980s by Mitsubishi Electric and Sony, which coined JumboTron as a ...
, and an adjacent hotel, plaza and office-retail complex. After months of negotiations between the team, local
Alderman An alderman is a member of a Municipal government, municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law with similar officials existing in the Netherlands (wethouder) and Belgium (schepen). The term may be titular, denotin ...
Tom Tunney Thomas M. Tunney (born August 22, 1955) is an American politician and entrepreneur from Chicago, Illinois. From 2003 to 2023, he served as an alderman on the Chicago City Council. He represented the 44th Ward of the city, which includes major to ...
, and then-
Mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...
Rahm Emanuel Rahm Israel Emanuel (; born November 29, 1959) is an American politician, advisor, diplomat, and former investment banker who most recently served as List of ambassadors of the United States to Japan, United States ambassador to Japan from 2022 ...
, the plan obtained the endorsements of both the city's Landmarks Commission and
Plan Commission The General Planning Commission () was an advisory body reporting to the government of France, extant from 1946 to 2006. History The idea of the Commission came from exchanges between Charles de Gaulle and Jean Monnet. It was established by De ...
before receiving final approval by the
Chicago City Council The Chicago City Council is the legislative branch of the Law and government of Chicago, government of the Chicago, City of Chicago in Illinois. It consists of 50 alderpersons elected from 50 Wards of the United States, wards to serve four-year t ...
in July 2013. To help fund the project, the team planned to more than double the amount of advertising signage in and around the stadium to about , including additional signage to be placed beyond the outfield walls – a move that was opposed by many owners of the rooftop clubs surrounding the stadium, who worried that such signage would obstruct their sightlines. Before work on the project began, the team wanted the rooftop owners to agree not to pursue legal action challenging the construction and continued to negotiate privately with them – offering to reduce the size and number of signs to be built – in order to gain their assent. The team could not come to terms with the rooftop owners who had a lease agreement with the team until 2023 in exchange for paying 17% of the gross revenues. In May 2014, the Cubs announced they would pursue the original 2013 plan to modify the park. Over the course of the next three years, the Ricketts family began to purchase many of the rooftop locations.


1060 Project renovation

Phase one of the 1060 Project began on September 29, 2014. During the offseason, the
bleacher Bleachers (North American English), or stands, are raised, tiered rows of benches found at sports-fields and at other spectator events. Stairways provide access to the horizontal rows of seats, often with every other step enabling access to a ...
s in both outfields were expanded and the stadium's footprint was extended further onto both Waveland and Sheffield Avenues. A
Jumbotron A jumbotron, sometimes referred to as jumbovision, is a video display using large-screen television technology (video wall). The original technology was developed in the early 1980s by Mitsubishi Electric and Sony, which coined JumboTron as a ...
scoreboard was added to the left field bleachers. A video scoreboard was also added in the right field bleachers, and the parking lots along Clark Street were excavated for underground players' locker rooms and lounges. After the close of the extended 2015 season, work began on phase two of the project. Exterior renovations of the park seek to restore design elements present before the 1960s. These details include ornamental muted-green grill-work and red
Ludowici Ludowici may refer to: * Ludowici, Georgia, a town * Ludowici Well Pavilion, a historic site * Ludowici Roof Tile Ludowici Roof Tile, LLC., based in New Lexington, Ohio, is an American manufacturer of clay roof tiles, floor tiles, and wall clad ...
terra cotta Terracotta, also known as terra cotta or terra-cotta (; ; ), is a clay-based Vitrification#Ceramics, non-vitreous ceramicOED, "Terracotta""Terracotta" MFA Boston, "Cameo" database fired at relatively low temperatures. It is therefore a term used ...
roofing. Phase three of the 1060 Project was completed before the start of the 2017 season. The left and right field bullpens were relocated to enclosed areas under the bleachers, the brick walls were extended toward the field, and new seating was added in the vacated bullpen areas. A visiting team "batting tunnel" was also added. Partial façade replacement and concourse restoration was completed along Addison Street, along with structural improvements to the right field bleachers. The outfield turf was replaced just weeks before the start of the season. The Cubs Plaza building just to the west of Wrigley was finalized, and the "Park at Wrigley", the area above Cubs players dressing rooms, was in use for fans before and during games. Construction of Hotel Zachary along the west side of Clark Street was ongoing. The fourth phase of improvements began at the conclusion of the 2017 season. The dugouts were moved farther down the left and right field foul lines to make room for two of the four new luxury clubs. The seating area behind home plate was reconstructed to locate another of the new clubs. The final upper level club was planned for the
2019 season Nineteen or 19 may refer to: * 19 (number) * One of the years 19 BC, AD 19, 1919, 2019 Films * ''19'' (film), a 2001 Japanese film * ''Nineteen'' (1987 film), a 1987 science fiction film * '' 19-Nineteen'', a 2009 South Korean film * '' Dici ...
. The Hotel Zachary, just across Clark Street, was open for business in time for the Cubs' first home game on April 9, 2018.


National Historic Landmark

Near the start of the renovations, the Ricketts applied for
National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a National Register of Historic Places property types, building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the Federal government of the United States, United States government f ...
status for Wrigley Field in 2013. A similar plan had been successfully pursued by the owners of
Fenway Park Fenway Park is a ballpark located in Boston, Massachusetts, less than one mile from Kenmore Square. Since 1912, it has been the home field of Major League Baseball's (MLB) Boston Red Sox. While the stadium was built in 1912, it was substantia ...
in Boston. To achieve landmark status, the renovations had to respect and reflect the historic character of the stadium. The benefit to the owners is that landmark status allows them to claim tax credits for the renovation. National landmark status was awarded in 2020, with the
U.S. Secretary of the Interior The United States secretary of the interior is the head of the United States Department of the Interior. The secretary and the Department of the Interior are responsible for the management and conservation of most federal land along with natur ...
commenting that "the historical significance of Wrigley Field is interwoven into our nation's story and a key part of what has become America's beloved pastime for over a century".


Firsts since renovation

On May 26, 2015, Cubs rookie third baseman
Kris Bryant Kristopher Lee Bryant (born January 4, 1992), nicknamed "KB", is an American professional baseball designated hitter, outfielder, and third baseman for the Colorado Rockies of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the ...
became the first to hit the new left field videoscreen with his home run. On October 13, the Cubs clinched a playoff series at home in Wrigley Field for the first time in franchise history, with a 6–4 victory in game four of the
2015 NLDS The 2015 National League Division Series were two best-of-five-game series to determine the participating teams in the 2015 National League Championship Series. The three divisional winners (seeded 1–3) and a fourth team—the winner of a on ...
. After Anthony Rizzo hit what would be the game-winning and series-winning home run in the sixth inning, Kyle Schwarber's seventh inning home run ball landed on top of the right field scoreboard. The ball was left in place, encased in clear plexiglass to protect it from the elements, but was removed in 2016.


100th anniversary

During the 2014 season, the Cubs celebrated the
centennial A centennial, or centenary in British English, is a 100th anniversary or otherwise relates to a century. Notable events Notable centennial events at a national or world-level include: * Centennial Exhibition, 1876, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. ...
of Wrigley Field. Each decade was represented during ten homestands throughout the season. April 23, the 100th anniversary of the stadium's opening, saw the Cubs playing the
Arizona Diamondbacks The Arizona Diamondbacks are an American professional baseball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. The Diamondbacks compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West Division. The franchise was established ...
in a throwback game. Each team represented one of the teams that played in the inaugural game at the stadium. The Cubs wore the uniforms of the Chicago Whales (Federals), the original occupants of the stadium, and the Diamondbacks wore uniforms representing the
Kansas City Packers The Kansas City Packers were a Federal League baseball club in Kansas City, Missouri from 1914 to 1915. They finished sixth in 1914 with a 67–84 record, and fourth in 1915 with an 81–72 record. The Packers moved to Kansas City in July 1913 ...
, whom the Federals played on April 23, 1914.


Lawsuit

On July 14, 2022, the United States government filed a lawsuit against the Chicago Cubs, operator of the stadium, for alleged violations of the
Americans with Disabilities Act The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 or ADA () is a civil rights law that prohibits discrimination based on disability. It affords similar protections against discrimination to Americans with disabilities as the Civil Rights Act of 1964, ...
, claiming that the stadium did not accommodate spectators with disabilities, primarily those in wheelchairs. The lawsuit states that, during recent renovations, the stadium operator removed the best wheelchair seating, failed to add wheelchair accessibility to premium club rooms, and stuck the wheelchair seats behind railings, which could obstruct the view of those in wheelchairs. The Chicago Cubs, however, released a statement, saying that "Wrigley Field is now more accessible than it was in its 108-year history".


Features

Wrigley Field follows the jewel box ballpark design that was popular in the early part of the 20th century. The two recessed wall areas, or "wells", located both in left and right field, give those areas more length than if the wall were to follow the contour from center field. It is also in those wells, when cross winds are blowing, that balls have a habit of bouncing in all directions. In addition, there is a long chain-link fence strip running the entire length of the outfield wall, the base of which is about two feet down from the top of the wall and the top of which projects out at an angle, primarily used to keep fans from interfering with balls in play. Called "the Basket" by players and fans alike, the rules of the field state that any ball landing within the basket is ruled a home run, making the distance to hit a home run in Wrigley Field actually shorter than the location of the outfield wall.


Ivy-covered outfield walls

The ballpark's outfield walls are covered by
ivy ''Hedera'', commonly called ivy (plural ivies), is a genus of 12–15 species of evergreen climbing or ground-creeping woody plants in the family Araliaceae, native to Western Europe, Central Europe, Southern Europe, Macaronesia, northwestern ...
. In the first weeks of the baseball season, the ivy has not leafed out, and all that is visible are the vines. However, as the baseball season progresses further into spring, the ivy grows thick and green, disguising the hard brick surface of the outfield wall. In the autumn, generally during postseason, the ivy turns red. On April 7, 2013, Total Pro Sports named Wrigley Field the "Best Place to Catch a Game in 2013", owing the award primarily to its architecture and ivy-coated fields. In 1937, the stadium was renovated and P. K. Wrigley discussed beautification with then-Cubs President
Bill Veeck William Louis Veeck Jr. ( ; February 9, 1914 – January 2, 1986), also known as "Sport Shirt Bill" and "Wild Bill" was an American Major League Baseball franchise owner and promoter. Veeck was at various times the owner of the Cleveland Indian ...
, who suggested planting ivy on the outfield walls. The ivy was originally
English ivy ''Hedera helix'', the common ivy, European ivy, King's Choice ivy, or just ivy, is a species of flowering plant in the family Araliaceae. It is native to most of Europe and parts of western Asia. Ivy is a clinging evergreen vine that grows on t ...
(''Hedera helix''), but was later changed to ''
Parthenocissus tricuspidata ''Parthenocissus tricuspidata'' is a species of flowering plant in the grape family (Vitaceae) native to eastern Asia (Korea, Japan, and northern and eastern China), where it thrives in floodplain bushes, riverside woodland and moist mountain m ...
'', commonly called Boston ivy or Japanese ivy, which can endure the harsh Chicago winters better than the former species. Cuttings from the ivy were sold by local vendors. The Cubs attempted to grow the ivy on the outside of Wrigley Field as well, but the plantings were often stolen, so the Cubs abandoned the plans. Following a later change in MLB rules, which requires all outfield walls to be padded, Wrigley Field was grandfathered into the rules, meaning it is the only stadium in the league without padded walls because of the ivy. In 2004, the ivy was specifically included in Wrigley Field's Landmark Designation by the
Chicago City Council The Chicago City Council is the legislative branch of the Law and government of Chicago, government of the Chicago, City of Chicago in Illinois. It consists of 50 alderpersons elected from 50 Wards of the United States, wards to serve four-year t ...
. Although the ivy appears to "pad" the bricks, it is of little practical use in this regard. There have been occasions of fielders being injured when slamming into the wall while pursuing a fly ball. Under the
ground rules Ground rules are rules applying to the baseball field, field, objects on and near it, and special situations relating to them, in the game of baseball. Major League Baseball has defined a set of "universal ground rules" that apply to all MLB ball ...
of Wrigley Field, if a baseball gets into the ivy and gets stuck, the batter is awarded a
ground rule double A ground rule double is a baseball rule that awards two bases from the time of pitch to all baserunners including the batter (baseball), batter-runner, as a result of the ball leaving play after being hit fairly and leaving the field under a cond ...
. Outfielders often raise their arms up when the ball goes into the ivy, signaling to an umpire to go out and rule on the play. However, if the ball becomes dislodged or the fielder reaches into the vines to try and retrieve it, it is considered in play and the runners can advance.


Dimensions

The distances from home plate to various points in the outfield have remained essentially unchanged since the bleachers were remodeled during the 1937 season. They were originally marked by wooden numbers cut from plywood, painted white, and placed in gaps where the ivy was not allowed to grow. Since the early 1980s, the numbers have been painted directly on the bricks, in yellow. Although the power-alley dimensions are relatively cozy, the foul lines are currently the deepest in the major leagues. It is to the notch in the wall just beyond the left field foul pole. The point where the bleacher wall begins to curve inward in left-center field, one of the two "wells", is an unmarked . The front part of the left-center "well" is the closest point in the outfield, about . The marked left-center field distance is . It is closer to true center field than its right-center counterpart is. True center field is unmarked and is about . The center field marker, which is to the right of true center field and in the middle of the quarter-circle defining the center field area, is and is the deepest point in the outfield. Right-center field is , the notch of the right-center "well" is an unmarked , and the right field foul line is . As of 2004, the backstop is listed in media sources as behind home plate. Although that distance is standard, the relatively small foul ground area in general gives an advantage to batters. The ivy-covered walls in the left and right field corners were reduced from 15 to 11 feet in height prior to the 2015 season as part of phase one of the 1060 project.  At around the same time, advertising signs above the corners of the left and right field wall were installed, raising the bleachers by about three feet. It is a widespread misconception that the recently added signage are in-play and a part of the wall, neither of which are correct. The distance from where the front row bleachers are to the field, including the newly placed signs, is still 15 feet.


Rooftop seats

When Wrigley Field was constructed, the buildings along Waveland and Sheffield avenues gave spectators a view of what was going on inside the ballpark, but did not become popular spectator areas until the
1929 World Series The 1929 World Series featured the American League (AL) champion Philadelphia Athletics playing against the National League (NL) champion Chicago Cubs. The Athletics defeated the Cubs in five games to win the Series. Summary Matchups Game 1 ...
. The
1938 World Series The 1938 World Series was the championship series in Major League Baseball for the 1938 Major League Baseball season, 1938 season. The 35th edition of the World Series, it matched the two-time defending champion 1938 New York Yankees season, New ...
brought paying spectators to the rooftops, however, fans typically sat in lawn chairs and brought their own food and beverages. In the mid-1980s, rooftop owners began to organize more formally as businesses, seeking to extract more revenue by updating the rooftops with bleacher-style grandstands. The Sky Box on Sheffield opened in 1993, originally catering primarily to corporate groups. Today, it is complete with a two-tier roof deck, indoor clubhouse, fully staffed bars on three levels, and an elevator. In 1998, the city started requiring rooftop owners to have a license and began to regulate the venues. In 2003, relations between rooftop owners and the Cubs worsened when the team put up a large screen to block the view of the rooftops, exemplifying what is known as a
spite fence In property law, a spite fence is an overly tall fence or a row of trees, bushes, or hedges, constructed or planted between adjacent lots by a property owner (with no legitimate purpose), who is annoyed with or wishes to annoy a neighbor, or who ...
. The Cubs then sued most rooftop businesses that year, claiming they were stealing from the team's product and "unjustly enriching themselves". In 2004, the building owners agreed to share a portion of their proceeds with the Cubs. Rooftop owners were required to pay the team 17% of their gross revenue in an agreement lasting until 2023. The Cubs obtained permission from the city to expand the ballpark's own bleachers out over the sidewalks and do some additional construction on the open area of the property to the west, bordered by Clark and Waveland, and to close the remnant of Seminary Avenue that also existed on the property. The rooftop seats are now effectively part of the ballpark's seating area, although they are not included in the seating capacity figure. In July 2016, former rooftop owner R. Marc Hamid was convicted on nine counts of mail fraud and illegal bank structuring. Hamid had been underreporting attendance at the Sky Box on Sheffield from 2008 to 2011, and covered up over $1 million in revenue while also avoiding hundreds of thousands of dollars in taxes and royalties that violated the agreement rooftop owners had with the Cubs. In January 2017, he was sentenced to 18 months in federal prison. In 2013, the owners threatened suit when the team announced plans to renovate the stadium and potentially disrupt the sight lines. In May 2014, when the rooftop owners did not agree to a scaled down plan for renovations, the Cubs' owners announced their intentions to implement the original 2013 plan for renovations even if it meant battling the issue in court. Cubs owner Ricketts said Wrigley has "the worst player facilities in Major League Baseball...I am saying it is the time to invest in Wrigley Field and do the things that our competitors do." By the end of the 2016 season, the Ricketts family had acquired ten of the rooftop locations, with a financial stake in an eleventh. Some of the rooftops became legendary in their own right. The Lakeview Baseball Club, which sits across Sheffield Avenue (right-field) from the stadium displayed a sign that read "Eamus Catuli!" (roughly Latin for "Let's Go Cubs!"—''catuli'' translating to " whelps", the nearest Latin equivalent), flanked by a counter indicating the Cubs' long legacy of futility. The counter was labeled "AC" for "Anno Catulorum", or "In the Year of the Cubs". Prior to the team's 2016 championship, it read "AC0871108", with the first two digits indicating the number of years since the Cubs' last division championship as of the end of the previous season (
2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...
), the next two digits indicating the number of years since the Cubs won the National League Pennant (
1945 1945 marked the end of World War II, the fall of Nazi Germany, and the Empire of Japan. It is also the year concentration camps were liberated and the only year in which atomic weapons have been used in combat. Events World War II will be ...
), and the last three digits indicating the number of years since their last
World Series The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB). It has been contested since between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winning team, determined through a best- ...
win (). After winning the World Series in 2016, the sign was updated to "AC000000". As of 2025, the sign says "AC050909".


The Yard at Wrigley Field

In January 2025, the Cubs announced a new area called "The Yard at Wrigley Field", which featuring five semi-private rental areas designed to help fans sample the bleachers featuring an exclusive table with unlimited beer, seltzer, wine and non-alcoholic drinks, as well as a ballpark meal for each guest. The area would be accessible up to 90 minutes before the first pitch until the end of the game. The area has a capacity of 50 guests.


Seating capacity


Attendance records

*41,688 – July 12, 2015 high mark after bleacher renovation *42,411 – Games 3 & 4 of the 2015 NLDS *42,445 - Game 3 of the 2017 NLDS


Unusual wind patterns

In April and May, the wind often comes off
Lake Michigan Lake Michigan ( ) is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is the second-largest of the Great Lakes by volume () and depth () after Lake Superior and the third-largest by surface area (), after Lake Superior and Lake Huron. To the ...
(less than a mile to the east), with a northeast wind "blowing in" to knock down potential home runs and turn them into outs. In the summer, however, or on any warm, breezy day, the wind often comes from the south and the southwest, "blowing out" with the potential to turn normally harmless fly balls into home runs. A third variety is the cross-wind, which typically runs from the left field corner to the right field corner and causes all sorts of havoc. Depending on the direction of the wind, Wrigley can either be one of the friendliest parks in the major leagues for pitchers or among the worst. This makes Wrigley one of the most unpredictable parks in the Major Leagues. Many Cubs fans check their nearest flag before heading to the park on game days for an indication of what the game might be like. This is less of a factor for night games, however, because the wind does not blow as hard after the sun goes down. With the wind blowing in, pitchers can dominate and
no-hitter In baseball, a no-hitter or no-hit game is a game in which a team does not record a hit (baseball), hit through conventional methods. Major League Baseball (MLB) officially defines a no-hitter as a completed game in which a team that batted in ...
s have resulted. The last two by a Cubs pitcher occurred near the beginning and the end of the 1972 season, by
Burt Hooton Burt Carlton Hooton (born February 7, 1950), nicknamed "Happy", is an American former right-handed starting pitcher and former coach in Major League Baseball. He won 151 games over a 15-year career, mostly with the Chicago Cubs and Los Angeles Do ...
and
Milt Pappas Milton Steven Pappas (May 11, 1939 – April 19, 2016) was an American professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a right-handed pitcher from through . Nicknamed "Gimpy", the 17-year veteran pitched for the Baltimore Ori ...
respectively. Not until
Cole Hamels Colbert Michael Hamels (born December 27, 1983), nicknamed "Hollywood", is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Philadelphia Phillies (2006–2015), Texas Rangers (2015–2018), Chi ...
of the
Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. The Phillies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East Division. Since 2004, the team's home stadium has ...
no-hit the Cubs in 2015 would another no-hitter be pitched at Wrigley. In the seventh inning of
Ken Holtzman Kenneth Dale Holtzman (November 3, 1945 – April 15, 2024) was an American professional baseball player and coach. He was a left-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball from through for the Chicago Cubs, Oakland Athletics, Baltimore Orioles, ...
's first no-hitter, on August 19, 1969,
Hank Aaron Henry Louis Aaron (February 5, 1934 – January 22, 2021), nicknamed "Hammer" or "Hammerin' Hank", was an American professional baseball right fielder who played 23 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB), from 1954 through 1976. Considered one ...
of the
Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Eas ...
hit a ball that looked headed for the bleachers, but the wind caught it just enough for left fielder
Billy Williams Billy Leo Williams (born June 15, 1938) is an American former left fielder and coach in Major League Baseball (MLB) who played from 1959 to 1976, almost entirely for the Chicago Cubs. A six-time All-Star, Williams was named the 1961 National L ...
to leap up and snare it. With the wind blowing out, some true tape-measure home runs have been hit by well-muscled batters.
Sammy Sosa Samuel Peralta Sosa (; born November 12, 1968) is a Dominican-American former professional baseball right fielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for 18 seasons, primarily with the Chicago Cubs. After playing for the Texas Rangers and ...
and Dave "Kong" Kingman broke windows in the apartment buildings across Waveland Avenue several times, and
Glenallen Hill Glenallen Hill (born March 22, 1965) is an American former Major League Baseball outfielder. Hill played with the Toronto Blue Jays (1989–91), Cleveland Indians (1991–93), Chicago Cubs (1993–94, 1998–2000), San Francisco Giants (1995–97 ...
put one on a rooftop. Batters have occasionally slugged it into, or to the side of, the first row or two of the "upper deck" of the center field bleachers. Sosa hit the roof of the center field camera booth on the fly during the 2003 NLCS against the
Florida Marlins The Miami Marlins are an American professional baseball team based in Miami. The Marlins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East Division. The team plays its home games at LoanDepot Park. The ...
, some away. The longest blast was probably hit by Dave Kingman on a very windy day in 1976, while with the Mets. According to local legend, that day, Kingman launched a bomb that landed on the third porch roof on the east (center field) side of Kenmore Avenue some 550 feet away. No batter has ever hit the center field scoreboard, but it has been struck by a golf ball hit by
Sam Snead Samuel Jackson Snead (; May 27, 1912 – May 23, 2002) was an American professional golfer who was one of the top players in the world for the better part of four decades (having won PGA of America and Senior PGA Tour events over six decades) an ...
using a two-iron.


Hand-turned scoreboard

The scoreboard was installed in 1937, when Bill Veeck installed the new bleachers. It has remained in place ever since, and has only seen minor technical and cosmetic modifications. The clock was added in 1941, and a fifth row of scores was added to each side in 1961, with a sixth by 1969. A set of light stands facing onto the scoreboard was added in 1988 with the introduction of night games. Along with
Fenway Park Fenway Park is a ballpark located in Boston, Massachusetts, less than one mile from Kenmore Square. Since 1912, it has been the home field of Major League Baseball's (MLB) Boston Red Sox. While the stadium was built in 1912, it was substantia ...
's scoreboard and
Daikin Park Daikin Park (originally Enron Field and formerly Astros Field and Minute Maid Park) is a retractable roof stadium in Houston, Texas, United States. It opened in 2000 and is the home ballpark of the Houston Astros of Major League Baseball (MLB). ...
,
Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum, often shortened to the Oakland Coliseum, is a multi-purpose stadium in Oakland, California, United States. It serves as part of the Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum Complex, located next to Oakland Arena. In ...
,
Coors Field Coors Field is a baseball stadium in downtown Denver, Colorado. It is the ballpark of Major League Baseball's Colorado Rockies. Opened in 1995 Major League Baseball season, 1995, the park is located in Denver's LoDo, Lower Downtown neighborhood, ...
and
Oracle Park Oracle Park is a ballpark in the South of Market, San Francisco, SoMa district of San Francisco, California. Since 2000, it has been the home of the San Francisco Giants of Major League Baseball (MLB). The stadium stands along San Francisco Bay ...
's out of town scoreboards, Wrigley is one of the last parks to maintain a hand-turned scoreboard. A number turner watches the score changes on a computer (a
ticker tape Ticker tape was the earliest electrical dedicated financial communications medium, transmitting stock price information over electrical telegraph, telegraph lines, in use from around 1870 to 1970. It consisted of a paper strip that ran through ...
machine was used in the past), and updates the scoreboard by manually replacing the numbers from within the scoreboard. The scoreboard is made of sheet steel. The numbers that are placed into the inning windows are also steel, painted forest green, and numbered with white numerals. The box for the game playing at Wrigley uses yellow numerals for the current inning. The clock, which sits at the top center of the scoreboard, has never lost time in its -year existence. Standing over the clock are three flagpoles, one for each division in the
National League National League often refers to: *National League (baseball), one of the two baseball leagues constituting Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada *National League (division), the fifth division of the English football (soccer) system ...
. There are 15 flags, one for each National League team, and their order on the flagpoles reflects the current standings. The entrance to the scoreboard is a trap-door on the bottom. On the reverse of the scoreboard, visible from the CTA elevated trains, is a blue Cubs pennant in white outlined in red neon. The scoreboard was extensively rehabilitated for the 2010 season. Unlike the home of the Red Sox, the scoreboard at Wrigley is mounted above the centerfield bleachers, rather than at ground level, making it harder to hit during play. No players have hit the current scoreboard, although at least three have come close:
Roberto Clemente Roberto Enrique Clemente Walker (; August 18, 1934 – December 31, 1972) was a Puerto Rican professional baseball player who played 18 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Pittsburgh Pirates, primarily as a right fielder. On December ...
to the left side on May 17, 1959; and Bill Nicholson and
Eddie Mathews Edwin Lee Mathews (October 13, 1931 – February 18, 2001) was an American professional baseball third baseman. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for 17 seasons for the Boston / Milwaukee / Atlanta Braves (1952–1966); Houston Astros (19 ...
to the right on August 22, 1942, and April 22, 1953, respectively.Sherman, Ed (May 3, 1989)
of the Tape"
''The Chicago Tribune''. Retrieved May 8, 2019.
In 2010, the Cubs considered adding a video screen to the stadium, but the hand-turned scoreboard cannot be moved due to the park's landmark status, which also prohibits even simple facelifts, such as adding two more games on either side (there are 15 teams in both the National and American Leagues) of the 12-game, 24-team scoreboard (reflecting the MLB from 1969 to 1976), so up to three games (one NL, one AL and the interleague) each day cannot be posted. Those games may eventually be part of the auxiliary video board currently on the right field that may also be added in left field. Most Cubs players support the concept of a video board, and work on two additional scoreboards began at the end of the 2014 season. On March 21, 2013, it was announced that
Alderman An alderman is a member of a Municipal government, municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law with similar officials existing in the Netherlands (wethouder) and Belgium (schepen). The term may be titular, denotin ...
Tom Tunney Thomas M. Tunney (born August 22, 1955) is an American politician and entrepreneur from Chicago, Illinois. From 2003 to 2023, he served as an alderman on the Chicago City Council. He represented the 44th Ward of the city, which includes major to ...
wanted to demolish the scoreboard to clear the view for nearby residents, who watch games from their rooftops. "Demolishing the landmark old scoreboard has never been part of any plan discussed or envisioned by the Ricketts family," said Dennis Culloton, a spokesman for Cubs chairman
Tom Ricketts Thomas B. Ricketts (15 January 1853 – 19 January 1939) was an English-born American stage actor, stage and motion picture, film actor and film director, director who was a pioneer in the film industry. He portrayed Ebenezer Scrooge in the fi ...
. To date, there is a third generation scoreboard operator whose grandfather began working in the hand-turned scoreboard at its inception.


Main entry marquee

Directly over the main entrance to the stadium stands a large, red,
art deco Art Deco, short for the French (), is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design that first Art Deco in Paris, appeared in Paris in the 1910s just before World War I and flourished in the United States and Europe during the 1920 ...
-style
marquee Marquee may refer to: * Marquee (overhang), a secondary covering attached to the exterior wall of a building * Marquee (structure), a structure placed over the entrance to a hotel, theater, casino, train station, or similar building. * Pole marquee ...
, with "Wrigley Field, Home of Chicago Cubs" painted in white. The marquee was installed in 1934, and was originally painted green with changeable sections to announce upcoming games. By 1939, it was repainted dark blue and the original "Home of the Cubs", was replaced with "Home of Chicago Cubs". In years when the Bears played there, the sign was changed appropriately during football season. On March 23, 1960, the Cubs repainted the sign red. In 1982, a two-line announcement board was replaced with an electronic LED message board, and a backlit advertising panel was added below (this is now solid red). The marquee uses red neon lights at night, showing "Wrigley Field" in red, with the rest of the sign in darkness. A
Budweiser Budweiser () is an American-style pale lager, a brand of Belgian company AB InBev. Introduced in 1876 by Carl Conrad & Co. of St. Louis, Missouri, Budweiser has become a large selling beer company in the United States. Budweiser is a filte ...
Beer slogan was on the lower panel in the early 1980s, around the time when the team added the LED signage. The
Chicago Transit Authority The Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) is the operator of public transport, mass transit in Chicago, Illinois, United States, and some of its suburbs, including the trains of the Chicago "L" and List of Chicago Transit Authority bus routes, CTA bu ...
Addison street platform that serves Wrigley Field uses an image of the marquee painted on walls to announce the destination. In November 2010, the marquee was painted purple with an
Allstate Insurance The Allstate Corporation is an American insurance company, headquartered in Glenview, Illinois (with a Northbrook, Illinois address) since 2022. Founded in 1931 as part of Sears, Roebuck and Co., it was spun off in 1993, but was still part ...
logo for the
Northwestern Wildcats The Northwestern Wildcats are the athletic teams that represent Northwestern University, located in Evanston, Illinois. Northwestern is a founding member of the Big Ten Conference and one of two private universities in the conference, the other ...
, who played as the home team against the
Illinois Fighting Illini The Illinois Fighting Illini () are the College athletics, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. The university offers 10 men's and 11 women's Varsity team, varsity sports. The university op ...
in a
Big Ten The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference, among others) is a collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representatives in 1 ...
football game. In 2015, a
Toyota is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturer headquartered in Toyota City, Aichi, Japan. It was founded by Kiichiro Toyoda and incorporated on August 28, 1937. Toyota is the List of manuf ...
emblem was placed on the lower panel just below the LED sign on the marquee; previously, the area was used for logos of transient corporate sponsors and team initiatives. Toyota, one of the team's "legacy partners", began displaying other signage in and around the park in 2016, including branding on all of its parking lots. The marquee was temporarily removed and restored for the 2016 season, including new paint, a new LED display board, and new neon lights. The back of the sign was given a new green paint job as well, which can now be seen from inside the terrace level.


Lights

The Cubs were a holdout against
night game A night game, also called a nighter, is a sporting event that takes place, completely or partially, after the local sunset. Depending on the sport, this can be done either with Floodlights (sport), floodlights or with the usual low-light conditio ...
s for decades, not installing lights at Wrigley until
1988 1988 was a crucial year in the early history of the Internet—it was the year of the first well-known computer virus, the Morris worm, 1988 Internet worm. The first permanent intercontinental Internet link was made between the United State ...
, after baseball officials announced that the park would be prohibited from hosting any future postseason games without lights. Before then, all games at Wrigley were played during the day. Night games are still limited in number by agreement with the city council. In 1942, then-owner
Philip K. Wrigley Philip Knight Wrigley (December 5, 1894 – April 12, 1977) was an American chewing gum manufacturer and a Major League Baseball executive, inheriting both of those roles as the son of William Wrigley Jr. Biography Wrigley was born in Chicago in ...
had planned to install lights, but the equipment was instead diverted for the
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
effort. On July 1, 1943, the
All-American Girls Professional Baseball League The All-American Girls Professional Baseball League (AAGPBL) was a professional women's baseball league founded by Philip K. Wrigley, which existed from 1943 to 1954. The AAGPBL is the forerunner of women's professional league sports in the Uni ...
's first midseason All-Star Game was played under temporary lights at Wrigley Field, between two teams composed of
South Bend Blue Sox The South Bend Blue Sox was a women's professional baseball team who played from through in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. A founding member, the team represented South Bend, Indiana, and played their home games at Bendix F ...
and
Rockford Peaches The Rockford Peaches were a women's professional baseball team who played from 1943 to 1954 in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. A founding member, the team represented Rockford, Illinois. The Peaches were one of 2 teams to p ...
players versus
Kenosha Comets The Kenosha Comets were a women's professional baseball team based in Kenosha, Wisconsin that played from through in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. The team played their home games at Kenosha's Lake Front Stadium, but l ...
and
Racine Belles The Racine Belles were one of the original teams of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League playing from through out of Racine, Wisconsin. The Belles won the league's first championship. The team played its home games at Horlick F ...
players. It was also the first night game ever played in the ballpark. The
1984 World Series The 1984 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 1984 season. The 81st edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff played between the American League (AL) champion Detroit Tigers and the Nationa ...
was scheduled to start in the
National League National League often refers to: *National League (baseball), one of the two baseball leagues constituting Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada *National League (division), the fifth division of the English football (soccer) system ...
park, but MLB actually had a contingency plan to instead start the Series at the
American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is the younger of two sports leagues, leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western L ...
park in the event that the Cubs won the
NLCS The National League Championship Series (NLCS) is a Playoff format#Best-of-seven playoff, best-of-seven playoff and one of two League Championship Series comprising the penultimate round of Major League Baseball's (MLB) Major League Baseball po ...
against the
San Diego Padres The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Division. ...
. This would have allowed the Wrigley Field-hosted (i.e. daytime) games to be held over the weekend; in return, only one night game (game 3 on Friday) would have been lost. Had the Cubs advanced to the Series instead of the Padres, the
Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. One of the AL's eight chart ...
would have hosted games 1, 2, 6, and 7 (on Tuesday and Wednesday nights), while the Cubs would have hosted games 3, 4, and 5 (on Friday, Saturday and Sunday), with all three games in Chicago starting no later than 1:30 p.m. CST. Since the Padres wound up winning the 1984 NLCS, these plans proved moot. In the late 1980s, Cubs management insisted that the team was in danger of leaving Wrigley if lights were not installed, and Major League Baseball threatened to make the Cubs play postseason "home" games at
Busch Stadium Busch Stadium (also referred to informally as "New Busch Stadium" or "Busch Stadium III") is a baseball stadium located in St. Louis, Missouri. It is the home of Major League Baseball's St. Louis Cardinals. It has a seating capacity of 44,383, ...
in St. Louis. After 5,687 consecutive day games played by the Cubs at Wrigley, the lights were finally lit on August 8, 1988, for a game against the
Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. The Phillies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East Division. Since 2004, the team's home stadium has ...
. However, that game was rained out after 3½ innings, and the first official night game took place the following evening against the
New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National ...
, whom the Cubs beat 6–4. On November 7, 2022 Wrigley Field upgraded to
LED A light-emitting diode (LED) is a semiconductor device that emits light when current flows through it. Electrons in the semiconductor recombine with electron holes, releasing energy in the form of photons. The color of the light (corresp ...
field lights.


Stadium usage


Baseball

Wrigley Field's first tenant was the
Federal League The Federal League of Base Ball Clubs, known simply as the Federal League, was an American professional baseball league that played its first season as a minor league in 1913 and operated as a "third major league", in competition with the e ...
team, the
Chicago Whales The Chicago Whales were a professional baseball team based in Chicago. They played in the Federal League, a short-lived "third Major League", in 1914 and 1915. They originally lacked a formal nickname, and were known simply as the "Chicago Fed ...
, from 1914 to 1915. It has served as the home baseball park for
Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...
's Chicago Cubs franchise since 1916.


Football

The
Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They are one of two remaining ...
of the
National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...
played at Wrigley Field for 50 years, from 1921 to 1970 before relocating to
Soldier Field Soldier Field is a multi-purpose stadium on the Near South Side, Chicago, Near South Side of Chicago, Illinois, United States. Opened in 1924 and reconstructed in 2003, the stadium has served as the home of the Chicago Bears from the National ...
. The team had transferred from Decatur, and retained the name " Staleys" for the 1921 season. They renamed themselves the Bears in order to identify with the baseball team, then a common practice in the NFL. Wrigley Field once held the record for the most NFL games played in a single stadium, with 365 regular season games, but this record was surpassed in 2003 by
Giants Stadium Giants Stadium (sometimes referred to as Giants Stadium at the Meadowlands) was a stadium located in East Rutherford, New Jersey, in the Meadowlands Sports Complex. The venue was open from 1976 to 2010, and primarily hosted sporting events and ...
in
New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...
, thanks to its dual-occupancy by the
New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The ...
and
New York Jets The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team p ...
. On September 14, 2003, the game played between the Jets and
Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. The Dolphins compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team ...
was the 366th regular season NFL game at Giants Stadium, breaking Wrigley's regular season record. The 50 seasons the Bears spent at Wrigley Field had been an NFL record until 2006, when
Lambeau Field Lambeau Field () is an outdoor athletic stadium in the East North Central states, north central United States, located in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The home field of the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League (NFL), it opened in 1957 Green ...
duplicated this feat by hosting the
Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They ar ...
for a 50th season and broke it in
2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...
. Soldier Field also matched the accomplishment when the Bears played there for their 50th season in
2021 Like the year 2020, 2021 was also heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the emergence of multiple Variants of SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 variants. The major global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, which began at the end of 2020, continued ...
and would the break the record when the Bears played their 51st season in the venue in
2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...
. Initially, the Bears worked with the stands that were there. Eventually, they acquired a large, portable bleacher section that spanned the right and center field areas and covered most of the existing bleacher seating and part of the right field corner seating. This "East Stand" raised Wrigley's football capacity to about 47,000, or a net gain of perhaps 9,000 seats over normal capacity. After the Bears left, this structure would live on for several years as the "North Stand" at
Soldier Field Soldier Field is a multi-purpose stadium on the Near South Side, Chicago, Near South Side of Chicago, Illinois, United States. Opened in 1924 and reconstructed in 2003, the stadium has served as the home of the Chicago Bears from the National ...
, until it was replaced by permanent seating. The football field ran north-to-south, i.e. from left field to the foul side of first base. The remodeling of the bleachers made for a very tight fit for the gridiron. In fact, the corner of the south end zone was literally in the visiting baseball team's dugout, which was filled with pads for safety, and required a special ground rule that sliced off that corner of the end zone. The end zone was also shorter than the north, as the south end zone was eight yards, compared to the regulation ten yards. One corner of the north end line ran just inches short of the left field wall. There is a legend that Bears fullback
Bronko Nagurski Bronislau "Bronko" Nagurski (November 3, 1908 – January 7, 1990) was a Canadian-American professional football player who was a fullback and defensive tackle in the National Football League (NFL). Renowned for his strength and size, Nagurski ...
steamrolled through the line head down, and ran all the way through that end zone, smacking his leather-helmeted head on the bricks. He went back to the bench and told then-coach
George Halas George Stanley Halas Sr. (February 2, 1895 – October 31, 1983), nicknamed "Papa Bear", was an American professional football end, coach, and executive. He was the founder and owner of the Chicago Bears of the National Football League (NFL), ...
, "That last guy gave me quite a lick!" That kind of incident prompted the Bears to hang some padding in front of the wall. The Bears are second only to the Packers in total NFL championships, and all but one of those (their only
Super Bowl The Super Bowl is the annual History of the NFL championship, league championship game of the National Football League (NFL) of the United States. It has served as the final game of every NFL season since 1966 NFL season, 1966 (with the excep ...
championship) came during their tenure at Wrigley. After a half-century, they found themselves compelled to move as the NFL wanted every one of its stadiums to seat at least 50,000 as a result of the then-recent
AFL–NFL merger The AFL–NFL merger was the merger of the two major professional American football leagues in the United States at the time: the National Football League (NFL) and the American Football League (AFL). It paved the way for the combined league, wh ...
. The Bears held one game at Dyche Stadium (now
Ryan Field Ryan Field may refer to: * Baton Rouge Metropolitan Airport, also known as Ryan Field, in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, United States * Ryan Airfield, also known as Ryan Field, in Tucson, Arizona, United States * Ryan Field (sportscaster) (born 1977), Am ...
) on the
Northwestern University Northwestern University (NU) is a Private university, private research university in Evanston, Illinois, United States. Established in 1851 to serve the historic Northwest Territory, it is the oldest University charter, chartered university in ...
campus in 1970, but otherwise continued at Wrigley until their transfer to the lakefront ended their five-decade run on the north side. One remnant of the Bears' time at Wrigley was uncovered during the offseason rebuilding of the playing field between 2007 and 2008: the foundations for the goal posts. Five NFL championship games were played at Wrigley Field:
1933 Events January * January 11 – Australian aviator Sir Charles Kingsford Smith makes the first commercial flight between Australia and New Zealand. * January 17 – The United States Congress votes in favour of Philippines independen ...
,
1937 Events January * January 1 – Anastasio Somoza García becomes President of Nicaragua. * January 5 – Water levels begin to rise in the Ohio River in the United States, leading to the Ohio River flood of 1937, which continues into Feb ...
,
1941 The Correlates of War project estimates this to be the deadliest year in human history in terms of conflict deaths, placing the death toll at 3.49 million. However, the Uppsala Conflict Data Program estimates that the subsequent year, 1942, wa ...
,
1943 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 1 – WWII: The Soviet Union announces that 22 German divisions have been encircled at Stalingrad, with 175,000 killed and 137,650 captured. * January 4 � ...
, and 1963 NFL Championship Game, 1963. Coupled with the Chicago Bears, the Chicago Cardinals (now the
Arizona Cardinals The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Cardinals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West division. The ...
) of the NFL called Wrigley Field home from 1931 to 1938. Born on the South Side of Chicago, the Cardinals also played their home games at Normal Park, Comiskey Park, and Soldier Field. The
Northwestern Wildcats The Northwestern Wildcats are the athletic teams that represent Northwestern University, located in Evanston, Illinois. Northwestern is a founding member of the Big Ten Conference and one of two private universities in the conference, the other ...
and the
Illinois Fighting Illini The Illinois Fighting Illini () are the College athletics, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. The university offers 10 men's and 11 women's Varsity team, varsity sports. The university op ...
played a college football game at Wrigley Field on November 20, 2010. It was the first football game at Wrigley Field since 1970, and the first collegiate football game there since 1938, when the DePaul Blue Demons played its regular games at Wrigley. The field used an east–west field configuration (third base to right field). In order to keep the playing field at regulation size, the safety clearances for each end zone to the walls in the field were considerably less than normal. In particular, the east (right field) end zone came under scrutiny as its end zone was wedged extremely close to the right field wall (as close as one foot in some areas), forcing the goal posts to be hung from the right field wall in order to fit. Despite extra padding provided in these locations, it was decided that all offensive plays for both teams play to the west end zone, where there was more safety clearance. The east end zone could still be used on defensive and special teams touchdowns, as well as defensive safeties; and, in fact, there was one interception run back for an eastbound touchdown.
Big Ten The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference, among others) is a collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representatives in 1 ...
Commissioner Jim Delany said that, as late as three days before the game, he had only been apprised that the situation wasn't "anything other than tight". When he had a chance to fully vet the situation, however, he concluded that the space surrounding the east end zone was smaller than the minimum of six feet stipulated in NCAA rules, and it would have been too great of a risk to allow offensive plays to be run toward that end zone. The Fighting Illini won the game 48–27, taking home the Land of Lincoln Trophy, which was introduced in 2009. Northwestern football returned to Wrigley Field in 2021 and 2023, and hosted two games at Wrigley Field during stadium reconstruction in 2024. They’ll host two more at Wrigley Field in 2025. During the 2017 offseason, the home (third base) dugout and adjacent seating were redesigned to be portable, and the playing field will accommodate a regulation size 120-yard football field that will run east-west, unlike the Bears, when the stadium was north-south. During most of the Bears' run in Wrigley Field, the goal posts were located on the goal line as was NFL rules until 1975, not the end line as it was in college and after 1974, the NFL, which made the deeper end zones relevant. A Northwestern football game had also been scheduled for Wrigley in 2020, but was relocated to Northwestern's
Ryan Field Ryan Field may refer to: * Baton Rouge Metropolitan Airport, also known as Ryan Field, in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, United States * Ryan Airfield, also known as Ryan Field, in Tucson, Arizona, United States * Ryan Field (sportscaster) (born 1977), Am ...
due to the COVID-19 pandemic. As a makeup, Northwestern relocated their 2021 home game against Purdue Boilermakers football, Purdue to Wrigley Field, which was held in November. The Wildcats also hosted Iowa Hawkeyes football, Iowa in November 2023. The Wildcats hosted Ohio State Buckeyes football, Ohio State on November 16, 2024 and the Illinois Fighting Illini football, Fighting Illini November 30, 2024.


Soccer

The Chicago Sting of the North American Soccer League (1968–1984), North American Soccer League (NASL) used Wrigley, along with Comiskey Park, for their home matches during the late 1970s and early 1980s. The Sting hosted the San Diego Sockers (1974–96), San Diego Sockers at Wrigley on August 25, 1979, when the Bears were using Soldier Field. Unlike the Bears' football layout, the association football, soccer pitch ran east to west, from right field to the foul territory on the third base side. Soccer returned to Wrigley Field in July 2012, when Italian club A.S. Roma defeated Poland's Zaglebie Lubin 4–0 in a friendly match with 22,181 spectators. A regular season National Women's Soccer League match between the Chicago Red Stars and Bay FC was played at Wrigley Field on June 8, 2024. They were the first women's teams to play at the stadium since 1943 and broke the league's attendance record with 35,038 spectators; the Red Stars lost 2–1.


Hockey

On January 1, 2009, the National Hockey League played its 2009 NHL Winter Classic, 2009 Winter Classic at Wrigley Field, pitting two "Original Six" teams – the host Chicago Blackhawks and the visiting Detroit Red Wings – in an outdoor ice hockey game. The rink ran across the field from first base to third base with second base being covered by roughly the center of the rink. The attendance for this game was 40,818. The Red Wings won 6–4. Wrigley Field also hosted the 2025 NHL Winter Classic on December 31, 2024 between the Chicago Blackhawks and the St. Louis Blues. The attendance for this game was 40,933. The Blues won 6–2. Held in conjunction with this was Wrigley Field's first collegiate ice hockey event, the Frozen Confines.


Concerts

Since 2005, Wrigley Field has been opened on a limited basis to popular concerts, but not without some controversy. Local neighborhood groups have expressed concerns about the impact of concert crowds and noise on the surrounding residential neighborhood, particularly in 2009, when three concerts were added to the schedule, one conflicting with an annual neighborhood festival.


List of concerts


Traditions and mainstays


Corporate sponsorship

Wrigley Field shares its name with the Wm. Wrigley Jr. Company, Wrigley Company, as the park was named for its then-owner
William Wrigley Jr. William Mills Wrigley Jr. (September 30, 1861 – January 26, 1932) was an American chewing gum industrialist. He founded the Wm. Wrigley Jr. Company in 1891. Biography William Mills Wrigley Jr. was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvani ...
, the company's CEO. As early as the 1920s, before the park became officially known as Wrigley Field, the scoreboard was topped by the elf-like "Doublemint Twins", posed as a pitcher and a batter. There were also ads painted on the bare right field wall early in the ballpark's history, prior to the 1923 remodeling, which put bleachers there. After that, the Doublemint elves were the only visible in-park advertising. The elves were removed permanently in 1937, when the bleachers and scoreboard were rebuilt. It would be about 44 years before in-park advertising would reappear. Ironically given the roots of its name, Wrigley Field had been a notable exception to the trend of selling naming rights, corporate naming rights to sporting venues. The Tribune Company, the owners of the park from 1981 to 2009, chose not to rename the ballpark, utilizing other ways to bring in corporate sponsorship. During the mid-1980s, Anheuser-Busch placed
Budweiser Budweiser () is an American-style pale lager, a brand of Belgian company AB InBev. Introduced in 1876 by Carl Conrad & Co. of St. Louis, Missouri, Budweiser has become a large selling beer company in the United States. Budweiser is a filte ...
and Bud Light advertisements beneath the center field scoreboard. Bud Light became the sponsor of the rebuilt bleachers in 2006. In the early 2000s, following the trend of many ballparks, a green-screen chroma key board was installed behind home plate in the line of sight of the center field camera to allow electronic "rotating" advertisements visible only to TV audiences. By 2006, the board was set up to allow advertisements to be both physical and electronic (they can be seen in both live and replay shots). In 2007, the first on-field advertising appeared since the park's early days. Sporting goods firm Under Armour placed its logo on the double-doors between the ivy on the outfield wall in left-center and right-center fields. Advertisements were also placed in the dugouts, originally for Sears department stores, then Walter E. Smithe furniture and currently State Farm insurance. For 2008 and 2009, the Cubs worked out an agreement with the Chicago Board Options Exchange to allow the CBOE to auction some 70 box seat season tickets and award naming rights to them. For the 2009 season, the Cubs announced that the renovated restaurant space in the southeast corner of Wrigley Field, formerly known as the Friendly Confines Cafe, would be renamed the Captain Morgan Club. On October 27, 2009, Thomas S. Ricketts officially took over 95% ownership of the Cubs and Wrigley Field, and 20% ownership of Comcast SportsNet Chicago. The Tribune retained 5% ownership. Ricketts, however, has expressed no interest in selling the naming rights to the park, preferring that it retain the name it has used since 1926.


Outside venues

Corporate sponsorship has not been limited to the park itself. Wrigley Field has a view of the neighborhood buildings across Waveland and Sheffield Avenues. In addition to spectators standing or sitting on the apartment roofs, corporate sponsors have frequently taken advantage of those locations as well. In the earliest days of Weeghman Park, one building across Sheffield Avenue advertised a local hangout known as Bismarck Gardens (later called the Marigold Gardens after World War I). That same building has since advertised for the Torco Oil Company, Southwest Airlines, the Miller Brewing Company, and Gilbert's Craft Sausages. A building across from deep right-center field was topped by a neon sign for Baby Ruth candy beginning in the mid-1930s and running for some 40 years. That placement by the Chicago-based Curtiss Candy Company (which is now under Nestlé), coincidentally positioned in the line of sight of "Babe Ruth's called shot#Legacy and cultural references, Babe Ruth's called shot", proved fortuitous when games began to be televised in the 1940s—the sign was also in the line of sight of the ground level camera behind and to the left of home plate. The aging sign was eventually removed in the early 1970s. Another long-standing venue for a sign is the sloping roof of a building behind left-center field. Unsuitable for the bleachers that now decorate many of those buildings, that building's angling roof has been painted in the form of a large billboard since at least the 1940s. In recent years, it has borne a bright-red Budweiser sign, and beginning in 2009, an advertisement for Horseshoe Casino. Other buildings have carried signs sponsoring beers, such as Old Style (when it was a Cubs broadcasting sponsor) and Miller, and also WGN-TV, which has telecast Cubs games since April 1948.


Legacy partners

In January 2013, the Ricketts family launched "Legacy Partners", a marketing effort to sell new advertising in and around the Wrigley Field renovations, renovated Wrigley Field. In conjunction with the new "W Partners", the Cubs entered into 10-year agreements with its largest advertisers. # – Anheuser-Busch # – Under Armour # – ATI Physical Therapy, a national Sports Medicine and Rehabilitation organization # – CIVC Partners, Wintrust Financial Corporation, a Chicago-based regional bank holding company # – Sloan Valve # – American Airlines # – Nuveen Investments # – Advocate Health Care, the largest health care provider in Illinois. # – Toyota, Toyota Motor Corporation A permanent position just below the Clark and Addison marquee and other signage in and around the park and Wrigley Field parking lots. # – PepsiCo


Win flag

Beginning in the days of P.K. Wrigley and the 1937 bleacher/scoreboard reconstruction, a flag with either a "W" or an "L" has flown from atop the scoreboard masthead, indicating the day's result. In case of a doubleheader that is split, both flags are flown. Past Cubs media guides show that the original flags were blue with a white "W" and white with a blue "L", the latter coincidentally suggesting "surrender". In 1978, blue and white lights were mounted atop the scoreboard, to further denote wins and losses. The flags were replaced in the early 1980s, and the color schemes were reversed with the "win flag" being white with a blue W, and the "loss flag" the opposite. In 1982, the retired number of Ernie Banks was flying on a foul pole, as white with blue numbers, in 1987, the retired number of Billy Williams joined Banks, the two flags were positioned from the foul poles, Banks from left field, and Williams from right field. Later on, the team retired numbers for Ron Santo, Ryne Sandberg, Ferguson Jenkins and Greg Maddux, with Jenkins and Maddux both using the same number (31). Keeping with tradition, fans are known to bring win flags to home and away games, displaying them after a Cubs win. Flags are also sold at the ballpark. On April 24, 2008, the Cubs flew an extra white flag displaying "10,000" in blue, along with the win flag, as the 10,000th win in team history was achieved on the road the previous night. Alongside the tradition of the "W" and "L" flags, the song "Go, Cubs, Go" is sung after each home win (it was also sung by visiting Cubs fans in game 7 of the 2016 World Series at Progressive Field in Cleveland, where the Cubs clinched their first championship since 1908). Also, following the 2015 addition of the park's Daktronics video screens, the large "W" in the "Wintrust" logo on the left field video screen is kept on following Cubs' wins.


"Take Me Out to the Ball Game"

The tradition of singing "Take Me Out to the Ball Game" at Cubs home games began when Hall of Fame announcer Harry Caray arrived in 1982 (he had sung it the preceding seven years as a broadcaster for the Chicago White Sox, White Sox), and has remained a Wrigley Field staple. After Caray's death, the tradition of a guest conductor began, with former baseball players, other sports stars, actors, and other celebrities invited to sing during the Seventh Inning Stretch. Among the best-known guests have been the actor Bill Murray, former Bears coach Mike Ditka, former Cubs second baseman Ryne Sandberg, former pitcher Mike Krukow, former longtime Cubs first baseman Mark Grace, former Houston Rockets star Tracy McGrady, Chicago Blackhawks forwards Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane, Chicago Bears quarterback Jay Cutler, comedian Jay Leno, NASCAR driver Jeff Gordon, singers Ozzy Osbourne and Eddie Vedder, former Chicago (band), Chicago lead singer Peter Cetera, boxer and actor Mr. T, actor and lifelong Cub fan Gary Sinise, actors Tom Arnold (actor), Tom Arnold, James Belushi, WWE wrestler/Chicago native CM Punk, Vince Vaughn, actress Melissa McCarthy, and Illinois-native country music singer Brett Eldredge.


Organ music

Wrigley Field was the first Major League ballpark to introduce live organ (music), organ music on April 26, 1941. The stadium's first organist was Ray Nelson. As of July 2019, organist Gary Pressy, holds the record for 2,653 consecutive games played, never having missed a day's work in 33 years. Today, most major league ballparks have replaced the traditional live organist with canned music programmed by a DJ. Pressy says: "I don't think it's a dying art, especially at Wrigley Field ... The team respects tradition."


Writing on the Wall

During the 2016 postseason, someone wrote a message in chalk on the outer brick wall of the stadium along Waveland and Sheffield avenues. This started a chain reaction and more fans began to write their own messages on the wall. The messages were anything from words of support expressed towards the team or just a name. Chalk covered a majority of the wall, to point where fans had to bring step ladders in order to reach upper spaces for their message. The Cubs themselves encouraged the event by supplying chalk and adding extra security. The event gained both local and national attention, receiving coverage from Fox Sports and ''The Boston Globe''.


In popular culture

Wrigley Field had a brief cameo in the 1980 film ''The Blues Brothers (film), The Blues Brothers'', starring John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd as Jake and Elwood Blues. In the film, Elwood lists 1060 W. Addison as his fake home address on his Illinois driver's license, tricking the police and later the Illinois Nazis listening on police radio into heading for Wrigley Field. The 1984 film ''The Natural'', starring Robert Redford, had a scene set at Wrigley but was actually filmed at All-High Stadium in Buffalo, New York. All other baseball action scenes in that movie were shot in Buffalo, at the since-demolished War Memorial Stadium (Buffalo), War Memorial Stadium. During Cubs games, fans will often stand outside the park on Waveland Avenue, waiting for home run balls hit over the wall and out of the park. However, as a tradition, Cubs fans inside and sometimes even outside the park will promptly throw any home run ball hit by an opposing player back onto the field of play, a ritual depicted in the 1977 stage play ''Bleacher Bums'' and in the 1993 film ''Rookie of the Year (film), Rookie of the Year''. The ballpark was featured in a scene in the 1986 film ''Ferris Bueller's Day Off'', where the outside marquee read "''Save Ferris''". The director, John Hughes (filmmaker), John Hughes, originally wanted to film at Comiskey Park (he was a White Sox fan) but the team was out of town during filming. The 2006 film ''The Break-Up'' used Wrigley Field as the setting for its opening scene. An The Babe, early 1990s film about Babe Ruth had the obligatory scene in Wrigley Field about the "called shot" (the ballpark also doubled as Yankee Stadium (1923), Yankee Stadium for the film). A scoreboard similar to the one existing in 1932 World Series, 1932 was used, atop an ivy wall (though that did not exist until later in the decade). The ballpark was used for the establishing tryouts scene in ''A League of Their Own'' (1992). This film was a Hollywood account of the 1940s women's baseball league which Cubs owner P.K. Wrigley championed during World War II. Garry Marshall (older brother of the film's director Penny Marshall) has a cameo as "Walter Harvey", Wrigley's fictional alter ego. The sign behind the scoreboard was temporarily redone to read "Harvey Field", and filming was split between Wrigley and Cantigny Park near Wheaton, Illinois. Many television series have made featured scenes set in Wrigley Field, including ''ER (TV series), ER'', ''Crime Story (U.S. TV series), Crime Story'', ''Chicago Hope'', ''Prison Break'', ''Perfect Strangers (sitcom), Perfect Strangers'', ''My Boys'', ''Chicago Fire (TV series), Chicago Fire'' and ''Mike & Molly''. Also, the animated comedy ''Family Guy'' featured a scene at Wrigley Field that parodied the Steve Bartman incident. In an episode of ''The Simpsons'' titled "He Loves to Fly and He D'ohs", upon arriving in Chicago, Homer Simpson, Homer walks past a number of Chicago landmarks, including Wrigley Field, followed by a generic-looking stadium bearing the name "Wherever the White Sox play". In 2007, the band Nine Inch Nails created a promotional audio skit, which involved Wrigley Field being the target of disgruntled war veteran's terrorist attack. The late-1970s comedy stage play ''Bleacher Bums'' was set in the right field bleachers at Wrigley. The video of the play was also set on a stage, with bleachers suggesting Wrigley's layout, rather than in the actual ballpark's bleachers. The tradition of throwing opposition home run balls back was explained by Dennis Franz's character: "If someone hands you some garbage, you have to throw it back at them!" In the cartoon series ''Biker Mice from Mars'', the eponymous main characters hide out in the scoreboard of the stadium, which is named Quigley Field. A dog park in the Wrightwood Neighbors section of Lincoln Park, Chicago, Lincoln Park is named Wiggly Field (1997). The stadium was also featured on the popular Travel Channel television show ''Great Hotels'', starring Samantha Brown. She attended a game during a visit to Chicago. Chicago folk singer Steve Goodman featured Wrigley Field as the setting for his popular Cubs lament "A Dying Cub Fan's Last Request", extolling both the trials of the Cubs and the place Wrigley Field holds in Cub fans' hearts. After his death from leukemia, Goodman's ashes were scattered at Wrigley Field as described in the lyrics. The Statler Brothers' 1981 song "Don't Wait On Me" referred to a then-implausible situation: "When the lights go on at Wrigley Field". However, after #Baseball, lights were installed, the line was changed to "When they put a dome on Wrigley Field" for their 1989 ''Live-Sold Out'' album. A few brief shots of Wrigley Field appear in the 1949 movie ''It Happens Every Spring''. It is also seen on the History (U.S. TV channel), History Channel's show ''Life After People.'' The stadium made a brief appearance in the open for the first episode of ''The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien'', with Conan rushing through the turnstiles while running from New York (where his previous show, ''Late Night with Conan O'Brien'', was taped) to Los Angeles (where his new show was taped, until his role as host ended on January 22, 2010) and then running onto the field while being chased by Cubs security. The route O'Brien takes is somewhat misleading, as he is shown running south on Michigan Avenue (Chicago), Michigan Avenue past the Tribune Tower before arriving at Wrigley Field, which is well north of the Tribune Tower. In the movie ''Category 6: Day of Destruction'', a terrorist turns off all the electricity at the stadium for a few minutes to demonstrate how hackers could penetrate city electrical systems. An overgrown Wrigley Field is shown in the new television series ''Revolution'' (2012). In episode 9 of season 3 of ''The Man in the High Castle (TV series), The Man in the High Castle'' (2015), Wrigley Field makes a short appearance as the home of a fictional soccer team called the ''Chicago Norsemen'' who, according to a banner, were "1963 Annual Soccer Champions". Wrigley Field was the site of the final task of ''The Amazing Race 29'' finale. One team member was guided by their partner in the press box via one way radio. They were told to place numbers on the hand-turned scoreboard corresponding to their team's final placement at the end of each of the previous eleven episodes, before searching the stadium's seats for their final clue. On the Sonic Youth live album ''Smart Bar Chicago 85'' the band introduces the final song, 'Making The Nature Scene', as being about 'Tripping on Acid at Wrigley Field'. In the 2020 film, ''Greenland (film), Greenland'', Wrigley Field is shown still standing despite being severely damaged amidst the ruins of Chicago after the collision of an interstellar comet that collided with Earth. Wesley Willis, an outsider musician and Chicago folk artist, had a track titled "Wrigley Field" on his album ''Greatest Hits Vol. 3'', which he played with his band 'The Dragnews'.


Accessibility and transportation

The Chicago "L" Red Line (CTA), Red Line stop at is less than one block east of Wrigley Field; the stadium was originally built for proximity to the "L" tracks. As Addison is frequently crowded after games, many fans use , the next station to the north, still less than a mile from the stadium. Additionally, Purple Line (CTA), Purple Line Express trains stop at Sheridan before weekday night games in order to provide an additional connection for passengers traveling from Evanston, Illinois, Evanston, Skokie, Illinois, Skokie, and northern Chicago. After weekday night games, northbound Purple Line passengers are told to board at Sheridan, while southbound passengers are told to board at Addison. At the conclusion of games, the scoreboard operator raises to the top of the center field scoreboard either a white flag with a blue "W" to signify a Cubs victory or a blue flag with a white "L" for a loss. This is done to show the outcome of the game to passengers on passing "L" trains, and also to anyone passing by the park. The basic flag color was once the exact opposite of the colors used today (the rationale being that white is the traditional color for Surrender (military), surrender). In addition to rail service, the CTA provides two bus routes that serve Wrigley Field. List of Chicago Transit Authority bus routes, CTA bus routes, 22 Clark and 152, Addison provide access to the ballpark. Biking to the field is also a popular alternative. As Halsted, Addison, and Clark streets all have designated biking lanes, getting to the field via bicycle is a widely used way to avoid hectic pre- and postgame traffic. Wrigley Field offers a complimentary bike check program to accommodate them; cyclists may check their bikes as much as 2 hours before games and 1 hour after games at racks off of Waveland Ave. Parking in the area remains scarce, but that does not seem to bother fans who want to come to this baseball mecca, which drew over three million fans from 2004 until 2011, averaging a near-sellout every day of the season, even with many weekday afternoon games. The little parking that is available can go for as much as $100 per space. To partially alleviate this problem, the Cubs sponsor a parking shuttle service from the nearby DeVry University campus at Belmont and Western as part of their agreement with local neighborhood groups. This was not available during the World Series against the Detroit Tigers in 1945; cars parked as much as a mile away on residential streets and fans walked to Wrigley Field.


Commemorative stamps

In 2001, a series of commemorative postage stamps on the subject of baseball parks was issued by the U.S. Postal Service. Most of them were engravings taken from old colorized postcards, including the illustration of Wrigley Field. In the case of Wrigley, the scoreboard was cut off to hide the original postcard's banner containing the park's name. The stamp and its sources also show the center field bleachers filled with spectators, a practice that was later discontinued due to the risk to batters, who might lose the flight of a pitch amidst the white shirts. This led to the development of Batter's eye, darker backgrounds to the pitcher's mounds.


See also

*History of Wrigley Field *List of events at Wrigley Field


Notes


References


Sources

*''A Day at the Park'', by William Hartel *''Ballparks of North America'', by Michael Benson *''Cubs Journal'', by John Snyder *''Green Cathedrals'', by Philip J. Lowry *''Wrigleyville: A Magical History Tour of the Chicago Cubs'', by Peter Golenbock *''Wrigley Field: The Long Life and Contentious Times of the Friendly Confines'', by Stuart Shea
Top 10 Ballparks of 2008
by Devin Pratt


External links


Stadium site on MLB.com

Restore Wrigley Field



Wrigley Field News

Zachary Taylor Davis

1060 Project

Sanborn map showing future site of the ballpark, 1894
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