Well, any major expansions are going to require expanding beyond the current confines of the cityscape and, at minimum, closing at least one of the streets surrounding Wrigley down the baselines. It might even require them to buy up a some of the properties across the street in either direction and demolishing them. With the sometimes adversarial relationship the team has had with the neighborhood, I highly doubt anything like that would ever be allowed to happen.pioneer98 wrote:If you keep the outfield walls as-is, where do you put the bullpens? I'm sure they could figure something out.JoeMcKim wrote:The playing field and outfield walls are the only things that should be kept. The idea that teams still put the bullpens in foul territory is laughable. Not good for outfielders running to catch foul balls and have to worry about tripping over the pitcher mounds.
I agree though. They just need to keep the ivy outfield walls, the CF scoreboard and the famous sign on the outside of the place. Other than that they should be able to do what they want.
It's not like when Busch III was built and the city allowed roads to be closed and rerouted. The Cubs really can't increase the size of the ballpark beyond the current area they occupy even if they wanted to rebuild Wrigley from the ground up.
I'd be shocked if they got the city/neighborhood to concede on anything. Maybe they need to pull a late 80's White Sox move and threaten to move to the suburbs or leave Chicago entirely. Who knows, the neighborhood might realize they need the Cubs more than the Cubs need them.
