Tom Ricketts,
Chairman of the Chicago Cubs
Dear Sir,
I am writing this
letter regarding your proposed changes to Wrigley Field and the
Chicago Cubs in general. I wish with all my heart you would
reconsider.
Firstly, part of
the charm of Wrigley Field consists in it's age and the sense of
history attached to it. It has been slow to change with the changing
years and that is one thing I love about it. (And not just myself,
but Cubs' fans world over.) I remember well the first year I had the
privilege of watching a Cubs game at Wrigley Field: it was in July
2007, and they were playing the St. Louis Cardinals. I immediately
fell in love with the look and feel of the ballpark; the towering
columns, the outfield ivy, the breeze off Lake Michigan, the wide
open feel of the place. All of the other ballparks I have been to
have been very modernized, with advertising everywhere and jumbo TV's
flashing distractions constantly. I hated it. Wrigley Field does
not have these things and implementing them would ruin the look and
feel of the place, and hurt me very much.
Secondly, you claim
the team needs the revenue that these advertisements etc. would
generate. You claim we have to catch up to our large-market
competitors in revenue. According to USAToday, CBS sports, and
several other sources, the Cubs current payroll is $104,150,726.
This is twice Tampa Bay's, who have sent a team to the World Series
twice in recent years. The Cubs have bought several high-profile
players recently and had plenty of money to do it (most notably, the
highly toted free agent Alfonso Soriano). Wrigley Field is sold out
almost every single game-- with tens of thousands flocking to the
ballpark even on weekday afternoon games. What exactly does the team
need more revenue for?
And
lastly, you claim you want to modernize the club even more by adding
more evening games into the schedule. Yet there is no shortage of
fans even on afternoon games, and the tradition of afternoon games is
deeply rooted in the Cubs history; it is an endearing part of a club
that clings to old-school traditions. I am proud that Wrigley Field
was the last ballpark to get lights, and that they play more
afternoon games than any other team. I love that about them, I do
not want that to change. I don't want the Cubs to become more
“modern”! What I love so much about them is that they are one of
the last ball teams who have refused all of the changes and the rush
to become “modern.”
I
beg that you would reconsider. I do not believe these changes are in
the best interests of the Cubs or their fans. I think the things you
wish to change are some of the very things that endear this team and
ballpark to their fans, and you would do wrong to take those away.
Sincerely,
A
Cubs' Fan
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