I am one of the people who would be upset if the Cubs moved out of Wrigley Field. As much as I bitch about the crowded walkways and the lack of decent concessions, I would be sad if they had to move. I think that puts me in a minority in this particular corner of the Cubs blogosphere.
I enjoy having a minimum amount of ads smacking me in the face as I watch a baseball game. I like not being told when to clap by a giant video scoreboard. I love the view from my seat of the surrounding neighborhood, and I think it is cool that people are so interested in what’s going on that they pay exhorbitant amounts to sit on rooftops across the street.
However, if there is one thing I could give a damn about in the current version of Wrigley Field is its exterior. The exterior of Wrigley Field is ugly, and crumbling, and just plain disgusting. There is nothing quaint about the chain-link fences surrounding the inner walkways. There is no architectural wonder in the concrete slabs on the exterior with the occasional tiny window that look out onto the abandoned triangle parcel that serves as a makeshift parking lot.
With the exception of the iconic marquee, the beauty of Wrigley Field is entirely on the inside. So this is why I don’t understand why people get upset when the Cubs try to improve the exterior.
I happened to catch a post over at The Wrigley Blog that shows the Cubs putting in LED lights above the ticket windows on Clark and Addison.
It chaps my hide to report that they have added bright Red neon over each of the ticket windows. (Lord knows, they want you to really know that they are OPEN and have plenty of tickets available). And they have also added some sort of e-lectronic message board. My grandson tells me they are LEDs and let me tell ya, they are about 10 times as bright as the glorious neon lit Marquee.
Lord help us.
I just don’t get the angst. So the Cubs want to improve customer service by putting up a system that gives them more options than signs that read simply “OPEN.” So what? Does this distract anyone from enjoying the game? No. There isn’t much short of a mortar attack that can make the exterior of Wrigley uglier, so I don’t see the problem.
From my perspective, if the aesthetics of the lights above the ticket windows were the biggest problem facing the Cubs, I would be thrilled to death. I just don’t get it.
Continue reading “Wrigley Field is Not Beautiful From the Outside”