Comments on: Cubs installing 70-foot digital scoreboard at Wrigley Field

By: Tim's Neighbor

Tim's Neighbor — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 04:01:00 +0000

The last thing I want to do as a Cubs fan is to respond to things as if I’m a Red Sox fan.

By: Tim's Neighbor

Tim's Neighbor — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 03:57:06 +0000

Over centerfield. I’m not as concerned about people watching from outside the stadium as in.

By: blueintown

blueintown — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 23:07:04 +0000

I believe the deal expires sometime around 2025. The Cubs get 17% of the rooftop owners’ gross revenue. They get $2 mil + per year.

By: oldpaddy

oldpaddy — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 21:56:59 +0000

paperlions, personally I hate the monster seats and I miss the horse trough urinals.

By: 18thstreet

18thstreet — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 20:07:33 +0000

The lack of an adequate scoreboard is the only thing wrong with Wrigley. I love this.

By: crisisjunky

crisisjunky — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 17:25:49 +0000

Now were getting to the crux of the biscuit! When is the 20Yr contract expire?
I’m guessing the club brought in a hired pencil to work out the balance of
friendly neighbor relations and potetial palm greasing all around, as opposed to the
long term value of the installation.
This is how Connie Mack dealt with rooftops across from Shibe Park.
Build it and they will come….across the street.

By: blueintown

blueintown — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 16:43:45 +0000

The Cubs receive millions of dollars of revenue from the rooftop owners as part of a twenty-year agreement. #facts

By: irishjackmp

irishjackmp — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 15:45:31 +0000

And cue the indignant outcries from the annoying “purists” because the Cubs actually are acting like a private sector busness and will try to (gasp) maximize revenue.

I have on simple question for the “purists”, when was the last time any of them passed on an opportunity to maximize their own income at their job?

Always easy to be generous with someone else’s money I guess.

By: paperlions

paperlions — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 15:16:58 +0000

People have TVs too, if they don’t like the changes they can just watch the game on those….or better yet, listen on the radio so they don’t have to see any changes to the field.

By: paperlions

paperlions — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 15:15:43 +0000

Cubs fans should probably wait to see what the finished product looks like, then wait a couple of more years to judge it. Red Sox fans hated the very idea of altering Fenway (unless it meant more/better bathrooms/concessions), but now things like the monster seats are a huge hit…..besides, bitching isn’t going to keep change from happening. There are 2 options, a new stadium (which is really what they need) or a lot of changes to the existing one.

By: hojo20

hojo20 — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 15:15:24 +0000

People have phones with internet capability. If they want the stats of other games, they can use them.

By: mickyfin815

mickyfin815 — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 14:47:30 +0000

Yeah, go to Wrigley and have “your experience” and get over it, it’s old, it’s a dump and and it needs lot’s of help it won’t get because of the Chicago Bureaucrats and anybody else that’s got their hands out looking to get some money off the team / owners and the dump itself ‘cos it’s a landmark don’t ya know. Geez, let ‘em pump some new life into the place, the options seem to be few anyway…who knows, it just may turn out to be a “better experience”.

By: mickyfin815

mickyfin815 — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 14:34:10 +0000

Nor have the people who own the rooftop seats been shy of making money off of the Cubs which they have absolutely no invested interest in.

By: medialovesthecowboys

medialovesthecowboys — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 14:05:51 +0000

I hate “purists”. The opposite of purists are generally progressive thinking people who make the world go-round. What exactly has the “Wrigley experience” done for the Cubs in the last…say even… Four decades anyways???

By: stoutfiles

stoutfiles — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 13:42:40 +0000

So the big question is: How many rooftop views will this block? The Cubs have never been shy about their hatred of rooftop seats that they don’t own.

By: hotkarlsandwich

hotkarlsandwich — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 13:34:00 +0000

Worlds Largest Gay Bar

By: Alex K

Alex K — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 08:10:14 +0000

Are you talking in place of the existing LED board in CF? That’s a fine place for something more modern.

By: Alex K

Alex K — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 08:07:37 +0000

Where would you have them put something like this? Over te bleachers is the only other option I can think of. But that could/would block the rooftops.

By: shanabartels

shanabartels — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 07:50:43 +0000

I’m just impressed that Theo Epstein finally got around the red tape, and a bit surprised nobody mentioned on here that Wrigley is landmarked, which is why the park had an outdated (i.e. doesn’t have enough room to show all the current teams that exist) scoreboard for so long. So this renovation is kind of similar to the Monster seats being added to Fenway. The rendering really doesn’t seem like that many bells and whistles compared to modern parks, but it will take some getting used to visually.

http://bats.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/12/15/fenway-and-wrigley-find-two-sides-to-landmark-status

By: 3yardsandacloud

3yardsandacloud — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 06:53:17 +0000

How about the giant Toyota sign above the bleachers? That doesn’t do more to take away the ambiance? Frankly, I think people will enjoy a small upgrade at Clark and Addison without ruining the overall experience by a harsh remodel that takes away the old world charm.

By: PanchoHerreraFanClub

PanchoHerreraFanClub — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 06:21:29 +0000

A giant scoreboard for Wrigley? As Dyan put it, “You don’t have to be a weatherman to know which way the wind blows”. Surely, the Cub fans don’t need a 70 foot digital scoreboard to what the score is: Cubs lose.

By: gordocb

gordocb — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 05:00:23 +0000

Are you serious with this stupid ass comment? The only things the Cubs fans deserve is a winner on the field, and any new revenue streams that can make that happen is fine with me.

By: Tim's Neighbor

Tim's Neighbor — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 04:18:21 +0000

Troughs are a bonding experience.

By: Tim's Neighbor

Tim's Neighbor — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 04:17:37 +0000

Easy, now. I’m all for some improvement of the park. However, I just don’t like this one. It could have been done better. Why take away the intimacy of the RF bleacher for a LED screen? Do that in CF above the batter’s eye (Turner Fields set up would be great). The bleachers in Wrigley are incredibly intimate. You are right on top of the field. Players interact there more than any other park I’ve been to. It’s unique.

To say that tech improvements would ruin the experience is silly. To question their placement is a different matter.

By: marc127

marc127 — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 02:47:54 +0000

I am a die hard Cubs fan and I think this is a great idea. All these people bashing it have to realize that these old ballparks need to eventually evolve. I like what Fenway did with their renovations. They steadily modernized it while keeping the classic feel of the original Fenway. And I trust whatever renovations they use on Wrigley since it was reported a few years ago that Cubs officials visited Fenway and got advice with how they went about the renovations. Wrigley is a venue to watch baseball in the modern era. Wouldn’t you like to be able to see a replay without having to be under the overhang? I know I would.

By: orangeflh

orangeflh — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 02:47:38 +0000

Tie a ribbon around a turd and it still stinks.

By: unconventionalidiot

unconventionalidiot — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 02:44:55 +0000

I love this. This is exactly what Wrigley needed – a nice informational scoreboard. Before this, there was no place in Wrigley that either teams total errors for the game could be found and posting of pitch counts was inconsistent – sometimes they are on the ribbon board depending on the size of the ad being displayed but often not. Also, multiple out of town game scores are not on the big, classic scoreboard because it’s limited to 6 games per league. This should address all of these issues, leaving the ivy walls and the old scoreboard alone while NOT bringing in a replay board a.k.a. a loud advertising board. We may even get to see the current batter’s slugging percentage!

By: pudgalvin

pudgalvin — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 02:23:40 +0000

Welcome to the 1980′s Wrigley.

By: crisisjunky

crisisjunky — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 01:50:12 +0000

They could stick a hot tub up there and trade for LoMo.

By: deepstblu

deepstblu — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 01:44:47 +0000

I’ll say it’s not the best rendering ever. They’re gonna need artificial gravity it it’s really pitched that steeply.