As part of the ballpark’s next round of renovations, the Chicago Cubs will renumber the seats at Wrigley Field.
The Cubs have been undertaking a major multi-phase renovation to Wrigley Field since 2014, modernizing the ballpark while adding new amenities to the surrounding area. Details on the last round of upgrades, most of which are expected to conclude next summer, were announced by the Cubs on Wednesday.
Several changes will take place in the next phase of upgrades, including an extended upper deck with new concessions, a complete overhaul of the visitors clubhouse, new club areas, and an expansion of the bleachers. Another tweak that is being made will affect all fans, as the Cubs are renumbering seats throughout Wrigley Field. Wrigley Field has used the aisle/row/seat system since the 1980s, but that will change next season to the more standard section/row/seat method. More from the Chicago Tribune:
“Very few stadiums use the aisle method,” [Cubs vice president in charge of the ballpark’s restoration and expansion Carl] Rice said.
Rice said the aisle/row/seat system was instituted in the 1980s when Tribune Co. bought the team, using a system borrowed from the old Riverfront Stadium in Cincinnati.
Because of years of ballpark reconfigurations, the seating organization also often was jumbled.
“It was really confusing,” Rice said. “If you had Aisle 4, Row 1, Seat 104 and Aisle 5, Row 1, Seat 6 and you (had tickets that) were next to each other, you would look at that and think we didn’t know what we were talking about.”
The upcoming renovations should build on the work that the Cubs have completed in recent years, as the team has modernized fan amenities at Wrigley Field by adding new club areas and making other upgrades. We took a closer look at the project at the beginning of the 2018 season.
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