April 4, 2012

FENWAY AT WRIGLEY WALL

Here is a recent photograph of the work being done on the new "Party Patio" at Wrigley Field. It is going to be ready for Opening Day.

It is different than the badly drawn sketch shown by Ricketts at the Cubs convention. It appears that there is only two seating walls above the scoreboard. The big beer vendor shack with large red roof (for advertising) is sure to block some rooftop views.

And speaking of limited views, the wall seats nearest to CF appear to be blocked by the existing RF bleachers (and fans), which means that many patrons of these new expensive seats will have to go "standing room" on the party deck if they want a better view of the field. Whether that is intentional or not, it brings the fans closer to the beer shack.

What is still unknown is how gaudy the scoreboard feature will be being on top of the existing brick wall, Will it be a static lighted scoreboard, or will the LED technology allow for moving graphics (which could affect the vision of batters or fielders under certain conditions.)

It still seems like an expensive effort in order to increase seating capacity of Wrigley by approximately 42 seats. These new party deck seat packages are premium (opening day may be as high as $165/each).

It will be interesting to absorb the fan reaction during Opening Day.