NEWSLETTER
I’ll freely admit that I’m slightly a little biased when it comes to the right field bleachers. It’s where I sat the first time I ever took in a game at Wrigley in the bleachers (left field was too crowded, so I wandered over, and realized how much easier it was to get a great seat down by the wall in right), and it’s the only place I’ve sat in the bleachers since. I just like it.
So, I was probably more bummed than most to see reports that the right field bleachers will not be open in early-May like the left field and center field bleachers (May 11 is still the target), nor will they be open in mid or even late-May.
Instead, it’s now looking like it could be June for the right field bleachers, as the Cubs revealed to multiple reporters during a tour of Wrigley Field today (Crain’s, AP, ESPN). The Cubs leave Wrigley on May 31 for a road trip, returning June 11, so that’s probably about what you’d be pegging for right field opening up.
The Cubs also said that they’ve requested permission to work longer hours than usual in order to meet the May 11 hope for left and center fields (24 hours a day, rather than 8am to 8pm). Hopefully they get it, and there’s no further closure of the bleachers in total. Being closed in April and early May is probably not a huge hit to revenues, as the bleachers are rarely full then, and there should be space in the seating bowl for everyone who would have come anyway. The right field bleachers being closed during a more prime window probably hurts a little, but maybe not a great deal – the bleachers can accommodate about 5,000, so the Cubs might still be able to sell tickets for 3,000 to 4,000 from May 11 until the right field bleachers open (depending on the weather and competitiveness of the team – it might not wind up being a hit at all).
The Tribune has a photo gallery of the work from inside the stadium (it’s fairly amazing that the concourse is expected to be done in a month), and Crain’s has a gallery as well.
The left field video board is still expected up for Opening Day, and the right field board should be up about the same time the right field bleachers are ready.
And now I try and figure out where I’ll sit in April and May ….
