By Ameet Sachdev | The Chicago Cubs gained initial clearance to erect a large Toyota
advertisement at Wrigley Field, but the future of the sign is muddled because the alderman whose ward includes the landmarked ballpark opposes
it.
After the Chicago Landmarks
Commission approved the Toyota ad, Ald. Tom Tunney, 44th, said that the Cubs are still required to go
before the buildings committee of the City Council to get approval
because of the size of the sign. Without his support, council
authorization may be in doubt.
“I do not currently support the placement of a 360-square-foot Toyota sign in Wrigley Field as it is not in keeping with the character of the neighborhood or with the spirit of the city’s landmarks ordinance,” Tunney said in front of a packed room at the landmarks commission meeting.
Up until Thursday, Tunney had not publicly taken a side on the sign. His opposition on Thursday appeared to catch the new owners of the Cubs off guard.
“We’ve had a couple of discussions early on with him, and he’s remained fairly neutral,” Cubs Chairman Tom Ricketts said after the meeting. “We’ll have to sit down and talk about what his bigger thoughts are.”
Tunney’s rejection muted what was a significant victory for the Cubs and the Ricketts family, which bought the team and Wrigley Field in October from Tribune Co., parent of the Chicago Tribune. Because Wrigley Field, built in 1914, is an official city landmark, alterations have to be reviewed by the commission.
Surprise, surprise.
Is that ever kissing the buttocks of the new Cubs owners or what! It is a given that when the right amount of $$$$$ are there, the name of Wrigley will be gone as well. How about Preparation H Field as both the Cubs and the new owners are pains in the (you know what).
Jay
Grow up. Its the 21st century,things change.
i’m a cubs fan through and through. regardless of what they do to the stadium, or even if they rename the field…it doesn’t matter to me. i’m not a fan b/c of any of that superficial stuff. i love baseball, but we as cubs fans have to stay progressive!
Jay,
You should be more worried that the White Sox are using State of Illinois money to build and maintain their park.
The Cubs use their own money to maintain Wrigley Field.
**** rickets.
I’ve been living down the street for 15 years.
Things sure have changed.
This is like the new neighbor who moves in, paints their house bright pink, and throws parties all night. I liked the old neighbors who played baseball and painted their house appropriately (not like a circus). It used to be a nice place to raise a family. It’s becoming less so every year.
@jay @neighbor
You are both stupid.
In my opinion, they should sell everything they could possibly sell. Name every urinal after some company. Name every seat after a different company. Heck, even sell the naming rights to the ivy. Make it the ‘Home Depot Ivy’.
If it brings me better players and a championship, sell it.
New Comiskey Park was financed with a special hotel tax. No Illinois taxpayers paid for it unless you stayed in hotel in the city at the time.
im with you pat. failing that, they should tear that piece of crap down, and build a 60,000 state of the art park in the western suburbs. wrigley is a piece of garbage place to see a ballgame. tradition?? who cares about tradition when that means 102 years of losing.
bring us a championship already!!
101 years without a World Series victory sans sign, and I’m sure they’ll lose with it. It just doesn’t matter…and I’m a Cub fan and a Wrigley Field fan.
As a lifelong Cubs fan and someone who loves Wrigley, they could’ve done a lot worse. Would I prefer another sponsor? Of course. But if this keeps Ricketts investing in the old girl as well as the team, so be it. I keep hearing about how the sign will ruin the character of the neighborhood. Newsflash – it’s already gone! The hideous rooftops atop those flimsy condo buildings owned by out of towners, bars-in-a-box virtually indistinguishable from one another and that god awful new Sports Corner building don’t exactly reflect the “character” of the neighborhood. It’s done. Move on and Go Cubs!
Preparation-H Field ~~ LOVE IT!!!
I LIKE THE ADVERTISMENT…. I WOULD LIKE TO SEE MORE ON EACH SIDE…. IT’S BETTER THEN WATCHING THE CUBS LOSE ALL THE TIME…. I WANT TO SEE ALL KINDS OF SIGNS SO I WON’T BE BORED ALL THE TIME AND DRUNK WITH8 BEERS…
I told ya this was gonna happen.’
Tommy Grammatis finally loses a battle after defacing the neighborhood illegally with the “UGLY” signs to try to stop the Toyota signs. The Ricketts have your number Tommy – no more new buildings without severe scrutiny of any of your future zoning change requests.
Hasta
Wow….all the happiness in here is amazing….buh-bye….
This is very sad news. “There goes the neighborhood!”
This is very sad news. “There goes the neighborhood!”
What’s the big deal. I say put up advertising all over like Fenway Park. Wrigley is not a museum. Go Sox!!
Ricketts Move the team to the Suburbs
The sign is already made and AT Wrigley Field.
I was at a game over the weekend and it noticed it lying disassembled on the roof of the concourse while walking up to the upper deck.
It’s inevitable.
Landmark that and laugh anytime you need a change, the wreck-its have landed!
No surprise. Even Congress is holding hearings into why it’s so hard to stop a Toyota.
Don’t EVEN try to say this is not what every landmark needs. Just think what would happen if it WEREN’T a landmark. Good to see that the old $$$ keeps things moving just like always in Chicago.
FOLKS REMEMBER !!! This sign dilema is all due to the old Budwiser sign, now horeshoe casino sign on the rooftop across the street which this new sign is intended to block. Why dosent Ricketts buy the building and then he can get all the rooftop advertising he wants
Isn’t he just trying to block another sign across the street or something because he’s not getting paid for that one? Please keep this crap from littering the field….we don’t need it….