The Chicago Cubs have won a key endorsement to put up a giant video board and oversize advertising sign that would rise above the outfield walls of Wrigley Field, two key revenue generators for the team as part of its plan to renovate the ballpark.
Thursday's 6-0 approval of the two structures by the Landmarks Commission, which must sign off on alterations to the historically protected features of the 99-year-old ballpark, now clears the way for the Plan Commission and City Council to consider the team's full $500 million plan to not only renovate Wrigley Field, but also redevelop surrounding land in the Wrigleyville neighborhood with a hotel and an office-retail complex.
The 5,700-square-foot Jumbotron-like screen to be placed atop the rear wall of left field will be nearly three times the size of Wrigley's famous old-fashioned scoreboard in center field. With a horizontal script sign on top and new night lights, it would be 60 feet tall and 95 feet wide. The three-panel video screen itself would be 95 feet wide and 48 feet tall.
The video board will spell the end of the vertical Toyota script sign in left field, but the commission approved a new script advertising sign for right field that would be about 80 percent larger than the old one.
At a meeting two weeks ago, the Landmarks Commission gave the Cubs permission to nearly double the amount of signage at the ballpark to 45,000 square feet - not counting the two massive signs approved Thursday.
The Landmarks Commission, like the Plan Commission, is appointed by Mayor Rahm Emanuel, and the approval marks a potential turning point in negotiations among the mayor, Cubs owner Tom Ricketts and Wrigleyville Ald. Thomas Tunney, 44th, over the scope of the ballpark changes. Typically, the Plan Commission and City Council go along with decisions made by the Landmarks Commission, which almost always reflect the wishes of the mayor.
Tunney had argued for smaller signs but in the end the Cubs and Emanuel agreed to only minor changes on the video board; the script sign was reduced from 1,000 square feet to about 650 square feet, although the exact dimensions remained elusive.
In April, the key players agreed to the rough outlines of the overall redevelopment, which would be funded largely by advertising and other additional revenue the Cubs hope to bring in with all the changes they've proposed to the historic venue.
Cubs Vice President Mike Lufrano told the landmark panel that the club wanted six outfield signs but reduced the number in deference to Tunney, community members and the owners of the rooftop clubs overlooking the park. He said moving the outfield walls out would improve sightlines for the rooftops and that the signs would eventually become part of the fabric of the ballpark.
"These signs constitute an expansion of Wrigley Field and are a critical part of the restoration project," Lufrano testified. "The expected revenue from signage overall will fund much of the plan for Wrigley restoration and will keep Wrigley Field competitive for modern-day Major League Baseball.
"As you look around sports, every team in baseball has signage in their outfield," he said. "...No team in modern sports is subject to a limit like this one on where signage can be placed. The revenue from such signage helps these teams as they invest in their facilities and in their players."
Tunney said the size of the signs was still too much, given the ballpark's proximity to surrounding homes.
"Although I understand and appreciate the Cubs' need to monetize the proposed improvements and that the plan comes with an enormous price tag, I can't support a proposal that so dramatically affects the quality of life of the residents," Tunney testified.
"The Cubs often point to large signs at Fenway (Park in Boston), at U.S. Cellular and other (stadiums)," Tunney added. "Those signs back up to expressways, not other people's living rooms."
The landmark panel also took testimony from dozens of witnesses, ranging from concerned residents to the owners of rooftop clubs who profit from their views into the ballpark. Some of the rooftop owners have threatened to sue if the large signs block their views, saying it violates both the stadium's historic protections and a revenue-sharing agreement they have with the Cubs.
Several rooftop club owners told commissioners they have invested millions in their buildings, in part to meet city demands, and the signs would harm their ability to repay money they borrowed.
"How are we going to pay our mortgages after we are blocked?" said rooftop club owner George Loukas.
Ward Miller, president of Preservation Chicago, expressed concern not only about the size of the video screen but also the possibility, approved weeks ago, that the Cubs would place ads on the baskets lining the top of the inner outfield wall.
Ron Roenigk, publisher of a Wrigleyville newspaper, said many residents didn't bother to show up because they "cynically feel that a deal has already been cut."
But Dean Skora, who is with a newly formed neighborhood group in favor of the renovation plan, gave a different perspective.
"I'd just like to state, at least to my eyes, these two signs aren't going to ruin the character of romance or nostalgia of this beautiful park," he said. "I find that the signs are rather tastefully designed."
The mayor and Ricketts are expected to have further discussions before the Plan Commission meets next Thursday. The role Tunney will play is uncertain, but Emanuel and Ricketts want the whole deal worked out and approved by the end of the month, before the council's August recess, so construction can start right after the regular season concludes.
Tunney has additional concerns about the overall project. He wants to eliminate a proposed pedestrian bridge over Clark Street linking the office-retail complex and hotel, as well as a proposed outdoor deck on the hotel that would overhang mostly residential Patterson Avenue. He also would like the hotel entrance moved off Patterson.
Those issues are still being discussed by Emanuel and Ricketts, team and city officials said. In addition, the mayor plans to ask the Cubs to pay for the public land it will need to extend the rear right field wall back by 7 feet and the left field wall by 16 feet, said mayoral spokeswoman Sarah Hamilton.
In 2005, when the Cubs expanded the bleachers, the team made a $3.1 million payment to the city to push back the walls by about 8 feet and acquire an adjacent parcel.
Cubs officials have contended that the land should be given to the team, which is not receiving the kind of multimillion-dollar taxpayer subsidies that have been offered for other stadium deals across the country.
Cubs spokesman Julian Green said the renovation would result in $19 million in additional annual property, sales and amusement tax revenue for the city. "In comparison to other stadiums, (the free land) would be a small provision," he said.
But offering up the land free would put the mayor in a tricky political situation, because he has repeatedly insisted that the renovation deal is being done without taxpayer money.
Also at issue is whether the Cubs would be allowed to shoot off fireworks at baseball games. The team has staged pyrotechnics displays at special events, such as concerts and hockey games, but not at baseball games like many teams do. The city and team have agreed to continue allowing fireworks at special events with permits, but not at baseball games, city officials said.
Tribune reporter John Byrne contributed.
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