NEWSLETTER
When I was discussing the changes at Wrigley Field before Monday’s Tuesday’s home opener, one particular revelation caught my eye, because it was not something we had previously heard about:
New seats @ Wrigley Field are removable, as is dugout. The @Cubs hope to host football again. Nothing planned, but noted relationship with Northwestern @NUFBFamily pic.twitter.com/qzGzEMvBhO
— newsburrow (@newsburrow) April 6, 2018
Now, while the ability to remove the new seats and new dugout was news to me at the time, the Cubs’ desire to host more special events, particularly college football games was not.
Over a year ago, the Chicago Tribune reported that the Cubs were hoping to host such an event, and there were even some specifics: “Football will return to Wrigley Field in November 2020, Cubs President Crane Kenney told the Tribune, with Northwestern’s hosting multiple Big Ten games the team’s ‘first priority.’ More intriguing, Kenney said the Cubs ‘absolutely’ intend to begin hosting an annual bowl game. The bowl would be the first of its kind in the Chicago area, and the timing should be ideal.”
The timing would be ideal, the story goes, because of the approaching conclusion of the massive renovations going on inside and outside of Wrigley Field. But now, as we know, the ability to remove seats and dugouts make college football even easier to host.
And what do you know, Patrick Mooney reports that negotiations have already started: “The Cubs are also deeply involved in talks to bring college football back to Wrigley Field and stage an annual bowl game, according to a source with knowledge of the team’s plans.”
Indeed, the Cubs are not just planning on having a one-off event – they plan on hosting a bowl game at Wrigley Field *every single year.* That’d be fun.
And as we’ve discussed, the Cubs’ ability to remove seats and the dugout from the left-field line address the “safety concerns” that forced North Western and Illinois to use one end zone during a regular-season game back in 2010:
As far as I’m concerned, I love the direction of Wrigleyville and Wrigley Field. Aside from the obvious more revenue for the organization angle, I just think that the newly-added restaurants are awesome, the area looks nice, and more events is generally more fun.
Make Wrigley Field a year-round destination. I’m in.
