Cubs propose new billboards on buildings across from ballpark; new apartment building also planned
CHICAGO (CBS) -- The rooftops outside Wrigley Field may soon look a little different – as the Cubs are hoping to put up billboards on the buildings they own across from the stadium.
Ald. Bennett Lawson (44th) on Wednesday introduced an ordinance to allow signs on two of the rooftops owned by the Ricketts family that do not include private clubs.
A Coca-Cola sign would go up on the building at 1040 W. Waveland Ave., and a Benjamin Moore paint sign would top the building at 3623 N. Sheffield Ave. The buildings are among 13 around the ballpark that are owned by the Ricketts family, which also owns Wrigley Field and the Cubs.
Cubs Vice President of Communications and Community Affairs Julian Green explained that the new signage allows the Cubs to mount advertisements for their corporate partners within the bounds of the landmark restrictions at Wrigley Field.
"As many people know, Wrigley Field is a landmark ballpark, and so we are very restricted in terms of how we can leverage assets in and around the ballpark to put up signs for our corporate partners," Green said. "Since we've acquired the rooftops over the last several years, we've really been very thoughtful in terms of how we can use these 13 buildings around the ballpark in terms of repurposing them for corporate partnerships."
Former Ald. Tom Tunney – who served in the 44th Ward for 20 years before deciding not to run for reelection last year – was known for pushing back against advertising at and around Wrigley Field. In published reports, Tunney was quoted Tuesday as saying of the new signage, "Once they start, when is it going to stop?"
"Alderman Tunney pushed back for 20 years, so his comments yesterday weren't surprising," Green said Thursday. "But we have a wonderful relationship with Alderman Bennett Lawson. Certainly, it has been very promising in terms of how he's been receptive in terms of allowing us to, again, be private owners of Wrigley Field. We're looking to generate revenue to put a better product on the field, and this allows us to do this. But more importantly, this allows our partners – corporate partners – to have expanded branding and imaging in the ballpark."
The plan to install the signs still needs approval from the Chicago City Council.
Meanwhile, the owners of three buildings on Sheffield Avenue across from Wrigley Field also want them torn down for a new apartment building. The trio of vintage three-story buildings that would be torn down – which are not owned by the Ricketts family – are located at 3627, 3631, and 3633 N. Sheffield Ave.
The building at 3633 N. Sheffield Ave. houses the Lakeview Baseball Club, which notes that it opened as the first Wrigley Field rooftop establishment in 1988. The building features the famous sign reading "Eamus Catuli" – a phrase that translates to, "Let's go Cubs," in Latin – and another sign tracking the years since the last Cubs World Series victory, National League championship, and National League Central Division title. In 2016, the latter sign was set back to all zeros.
The Lakeview Baseball Club notes that its first event was held for the first Cubs night game with lights in Wrigley Field, on Aug. 8, 1988. It has since undergone numerous upgrades and renovations for everything from an upper deck to an antique bar from a ski lodge in Vail, Colorado.
The building two doors south at 3627 N. Sheffield Ave. houses Outfield Gallery, a sister club to the Lakeview Baseball Club. Outfield Gallery's predecessor in the building, Skybox on Sheffield, was another early Wrigley rooftop club that dated back to 1993.
However, the seats at the two clubs have been growing emptier and emptier since a massive video board went up over right field at Wrigley in 2015. Published reports note that Skybox on Sheffield and the Lakeview Baseball Club both sued the Cubs over the plans for the video billboard – but the lawsuit ended up being dismissed.
The building in between, at 3631 N. Sheffield Ave., does not house a rooftop club and never has. But it has featured a billboard of its own going back to the early days of the ballpark – a photo from the first World Series game at Wrigley Field in 1929 shows a billboard on the roof of the building advertising Atlas Special Brew.
The building was likely best known for a billboard advertising Torco Oil in the 1970s, 80s, and 90s. The billboard has advertised Miller beer and other various other products in the years since – and remains in place to this day.
Back in the 1980s, the 3631 N. Sheffield Ave. building housed single-room rental units on floors with common bathrooms and kitchens. Current property records indicate it now houses four rental units, each with multiple bedrooms.
All three buildings date back to around the turn of the last century, making them older than Wrigley Field itself. Wrigley Field dates from 1914.
The proposed new building designed by DXU Architects would stand five stories tall and contain 29 residential units. Some renderings show the phrase "Eamus Catuli" set in the stone at the top of the building.
There are also plans listed on Ald. Lawson's website for the demolition of the building at 1040 W. Waveland Ave. – where the new Coca-Cola billboard is to be mounted – for a new nine-unit residential building.
