Even as actual construction on the Wrigley Field renovation and development project remains at a standstill pending a resolution of rooftop-related issues, the Chicago Cubs continue to be the good neighbors Alderman Tom Tunney asked them to be when City Council approved the project last year.
To wit, the Cubs have started dialoging with folks in the Wrigleyville area about the total number of outdoor events with amplified sound that they can hold at the yet-to-be-constructed plaza just west of the ballpark. As originally passed, the Cubs were not limited in the number of such events – concerts, movies, etc. – they could have at the plaza, but, after hearing concerns from some in the community, the Cubs have proposed a limited of 25 events, per Serena Dai at DNAinfo.
Dai’s piece has more of the details, including the usual neighborhood grousing, and it sounds like much of this is still in flux. Alderman Tunney undoubtedly has an interest in making the plaza into a successful year-round hub for Wrigleyville and Lakeview, since it could draw in folks to the area even when the Cubs are on the road, or aren’t in season.
At bottom, it’s good to see the Cubs trying to get out ahead of this issue and come up with something that will be agreeable to most of the involved parties, rather than waiting for things to come to blows after they’ve already started building the thing. It’s also good to see that discussions about ancillary issues like this continue, even as the project, on the whole, is stalled. At least some balls are being kept in motion.