The Cubs state that they are a "family friendly" organization. Clark the new mascot was the latest outreach to families with young children. The Cubs want families to come to Wrigley Field to have a nice, safe and happy place to spend a day (at $53/ticket plus food and souvenirs).
But in the same business/marketing department meetings, the sausage grinding that is the extraction of money from the fans stars the most profitable service in the park: beer sales.
Since Ricketts ownership, beer stands in and around Wrigley have exploded in number and in size. The push to sell alcohol has been dramatic. It is so prevalent now that someone unfamiliar with the history of the team or park would think Wrigley Field is a sports tavern that occasionally has a live lawn show.
A recent op-ed column in Crain's Chicago Business opined that if the Cubs were really "family friendly" then the team should institute a "two beer maximum" rule in and around the ball park. That will never happen. In fact, the opposite may be true . . . you may have to have a two drink minimum just to get inside Wrigley Field.
The latest manifestations of the Wrigley "renovations" includes a large fan plaza across from a new hotel near the new main entrance to the park. This new fan plaza will have digital advertising obelisks. It will also have enough space for many beer carts. Also, anchoring the north end will be a new building, that will house several taverns and party decks. And on weekend home games, the team wants to close Sheffield to have a fan concourse, which of course will include more beer vendors. It seems that the plan is to create a bizarro world where AA stands for "Always Alcohol."
Wrigley has a pre-history for alcohol excess. The legendary Harry Carey filled the ball park with his drunken legions. It was once speculated that Carey was the most unpaid person in baseball, because it was calculated that his fandom's consumption of his favorite adult beverage increased beer profits at Wrigley by $250,000 per game.
Prior to Ricketts buying the Cubs from the Tribune, the bleachers had turned in the summer to North Avenue Beach with alcohol. It was the place where the twenty-somethings went to hang out in the sun, get hammered and stumble home. Very few were actual baseball fans. Wrigley became a party place that sold out every game. And that what Tom sold his old man.
But even back then, the crowds began to get rowdy. There were fights in the stands during most games. It got to the point where beer sales were curbed after the 7th inning, but even that rule is no longer enforced by security. A major complaint for the last decade has been the abusive language and drunken behavior observed in the stands during Cub games. Some parents no longer take their children to games because of juvenile behavior of intoxicated patrons.
But once the economy hit the skids during the financial crisis, and the twenty-somethings lost their jobs, got married or left the city, attendance of hard core drinkers declined along with season ticket holders who are rapidly giving up their season tickets. Less attendance means less beer sales which means less revenue. But the intoxicated behavior of some fans still persists.
It was once thought that Wrigley Field alone could draw in a million fans per year because it is such a throwback baseball park. But even that is no longer the case with its new digital scoreboards and advertising signage. The atmosphere of being a cathedral of old time baseball has changed to that of being a sports bar.
And do not be fooled . . . it was intentional. Ownership is desperate to jack up the revenue from the Cubs in any means possible. Clark the mascot is another method of selling a bunch of new Clark souvenirs to young families, while at the same time trying to entice mom and dad into buying just one or two more beers.
There is nothing evil or wrong about selling beer at a baseball park. It is part of the national past time. But one cannot exclude the negatives of excessive beer sales under the same banner of being a family friendly atmosphere.
