Wrigley Field looked beautiful from the roof at 1032 W. Waveland on Thursday afternoon. It was just another beautiful summer day, perfect for baseball …
Of course, we don’t have baseball. Still. But it will be played tomorrow afternoon at Wrigley Field and other ball stadiums across the country. The Brewers and Cubs will start a 60-game season, and my fervent hope is that everyone involved will stay healthy in the face of the new coronavirus pandemic.
I was invited to the rooftop to get some panoramic views of the ballpark, seen above, and also to speak with Colin Faulkner, Cubs vice president of sales and marketing, about some of the things going on both inside and outside the stadium.
First, here is a little panoramic video I took of the scene from the rooftop. The Brewers were taking BP when I was there in the late afternoon:
Honestly, that’s a very good view from there. Nuveen’s sign blocks the left field a lot, and you’re pretty far from the infield, but everything else can be seen quite well (except of course the left field video board behind you.
As you can also see, the opening day bunting is in the stands, even though no one will be there to see it except the players and coaches. It’s a nice touch meant to make things feel normal. There will be first ceremonial launches on Friday, some of which will be launched by Advocate Health Care healthcare workers. Advocate’s Dr. Hillary Ecker will sing the national anthem on Friday night.
For the Cubs’ season ticket holders, the club has also introduced a new Season Ticket Holder Dirty Ball Program. During each home game without the assistance of fans, the Cubs Authentics team will collect the dirty balls and send them to the Season Ticket Holder with the closest seat location.
Faulkner told me that sales on the 11 Ricketts-owned roofs have been very good, Opening Night has been sold out and they have good sales for many other games. In total, the 11 roofs can hold about 500 people, at 20 percent of their original capacity. In some cases, roofs will have fewer people than that. As you can see from the photos above, they have locked certain seats in the rooftop stand to make sure people are properly distanced socially. Faulkner said he is confident he can make it work.
He also told me that many team executives, including himself and Crane Kenney, have taken turns helping with the crew’s needs, as they have not hired the usual seasonal crew of the crew workers. Only full-time crew personnel work there, but Faulkner assured me they have enough people to throw the tarp out into the field if there’s a storm. As you can see in photo 9, only the Cubs / Brewers score is on the board. It will be the only one to be kept during home games as only a limited number of workers are allowed in the stadium. Only one marker worker, Darryl Wilson (who has been there for many years) will be on the board on game days.
As for the tents that you have probably seen on television, some of them are to provide social distancing for players during games so that they do not crowd in canoes; others are for food and drink for players. Almost everything for the players, Faulkner said, including weight training, has been taken from the clubhouse and placed in outdoor areas of the esplanade. For visiting players, they have expanded the clubhouse area and also used part of the esplanade. You may recall that the original clubhouse protocols required that players not shower in clubhouses; Now that is “discouraged” and that would be the only thing the players would do at the clubhouse. Some may go home to do that, and visiting players, depending on the team, may dress at their hotel.
You may have read this article in The Athletic about the Cubs’ discussions with 3D Digital Venues, a company that helps make 3D seating maps for stadiums, among other things. Several other teams are also consulting with 3D digital venues. This company is trying to help the Cubs in case fans are allowed in the stadiums this year, which does not yet appear to be happening. If it does:
So, let’s say the Cubs wanted 90 percent of their available allowance to be sold in groups of two and four, with 10 percent divided between groups of five and singles. The Cubs may not reach 8,000 fans due to their internal restrictions that eliminate about 18 percent of their available seats, but even with conservative estimates, they could serve between 4,500 and 7,000 per game, according to simulations shown at The athletic.
Faulkner told me that if fans are allowed in the stands this year, it would be in an assigned seat as the postseason. Surely you may have noticed the advertising banners on parts of the stands (and you can see them in the video), but Faulkner said they left room for fans to attend at some point.
I think that is not going to happen this season, but the team has to make contingency plans just in case. And this could help them in 2021, depending on how many fans are allowed to return to the stadium.
By the way, Ald. Tom Tunney’s office says the city will impose residential parking restrictions as is usual for the Cubs games, though there will be no fans at the stadium.
It is baseball. Baseball is rare. He comes tomorrow. I hope you enjoyed the views. I will have more thoughts on the 2020 season tomorrow morning.
Thanks to Colin Faulkner for his time and Ellie Lange of the Cubs for their help in organizing this photo shoot and interview.
