A 2020 college football bowl game could be on tap for Wrigley Field, potentially adding another high-profile event to the ballpark’s calendar.
It has been known that the Chicago Cubs want to make college football games part of Wrigley Field’s offerings, with ongoing renovations allowing the historic venue to more easily host football. The team took a significant step in that direction last week, when it was announced that Northwestern will host Wisconsin in a game at Wrigley Field on November 7, 2020.
A bowl game also looks to be in Wrigley Field’s future, with college football insider Brett McMurphy recently reporting that the ballpark is expected to be the host of a Chicago bowl game in 2020. If the plan for a bowl game at Wrigley Field is finalized, it would allow the Cubs to achieve one of their goals for the ballpark. More from the Chicago Sun-Times:
The Chicago bowl will match a Big Ten team against an ACC opponent, according to McMurphy, who said that the Big Ten is expected to cut ties with the San Francisco Bowl after 2019.
Cubs president of business operations Crane Kenney recently said that Chicago is an ideal destination for a bowl game.
“If New York is a good place for a bowl game, why isn’t Chicago a great place?” Kenney said. “And obviously a storied venue adds to it.”
Kenney previously had said that the Cubs were in “conversations with a number of conferences” about hosting a bowl game in 2020.
College football games are becoming more common offseason events at Major League Baseball ballparks, and bowl games are part of that mix. Yankee Stadium hosts the annual Pinstripe Bowl, while the Arizona Diamondbacks’ Chase Field is currently home to the Cactus Bowl.
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