so you are of the opinion that it was smart for them to hardball the rooftop owners over an amount of money that amounts to a very small percentage of a $500 million investment and so incur delays in their construction plans, eliminating any possibility of public money and incurring litigation costs?

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O judgment! Thou art fled to brutish beasts,
And men have lost their reason.

People are treating it as a crazy question but, yes, they absolutely could have bought just the rooftop rights. I don't think that is what they did. I think they bought the buildings. I wouldn't be surprised if George Loukas' family company is managing the properties.

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O judgment! Thou art fled to brutish beasts,
And men have lost their reason.

sinicalypse's less wordy little brother?

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Anybody here seen my old friend Bobby?
Can you tell me where he's gone?
I thought I saw him walkin' up to The Hill
With Matthew, Tulsi, and Don

They probably were fortunate to have the delays. It allowed them time to trade for younger players to stock their farm system, as well as drafting players. Now, the refurbished ballpark is matched with a contending team. They tried for public money, even threatened the move to Rosemont, but the state is in horrific financial shape and that was not going to happen. I think it was all handled very well. The only downside was the bullshit Landmark status slapped on various parts of the ballpark that forced them to do things like keeping the original scoreboard, which is obsolete. The new Jumbotron should be located where the original scoreboard is. That would provide the best sightline for the vast majority of fans at the ballpark. I doubt many people even look at the old scoreboard much anymore. But because it was landmarked, it had to remain. Crazy that they get no public money, yet are told how they can and cannot rebuild their own ballpark, on their own land.

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Go Cubs!!!!

Go to Fenway. That's Wrigleyville in 10 years.

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They probably were fortunate to have the delays. It allowed them time to trade for younger players to stock their farm system, as well as drafting players. Now, the refurbished ballpark is matched with a contending team. They tried for public money, even threatened the move to Rosemont, but the state is in horrific financial shape and that was not going to happen. I think it was all handled very well. The only downside was the bullshit Landmark status slapped on various parts of the ballpark that forced them to do things like keeping the original scoreboard, which is obsolete. The new Jumbotron should be located where the original scoreboard is. That would provide the best sightline for the vast majority of fans at the ballpark. I doubt many people even look at the old scoreboard much anymore. But because it was landmarked, it had to remain. Crazy that they get no public money, yet are told how they can and cannot rebuild their own ballpark, on their own land.[/quote]

do you not recognize that EVERY property has government restrictions on the dimensions of the building and the use within it?

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O judgment! Thou art fled to brutish beasts,
And men have lost their reason.

Looking at this map from Crain's is it possible that after the lawsuit/criminal charges are settled against the owner of the buildings behind the Jumbotron that they buy those buildings and then tear them all down and build one SUPER rooftop from the alley north of SportsCorner up to Murphy's building?

Perhaps even buying out Beth and cutting her a deal similar to McDonlad's (there will always be a McD's at the site) she gets a ground floor spot and thus keeps the income from the bar.

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And of course they are getting public money in the form of tax breaks and the ability to glom public property.

_________________
Anybody here seen my old friend Bobby?
Can you tell me where he's gone?
I thought I saw him walkin' up to The Hill
With Matthew, Tulsi, and Don

Coming soon

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do you not recognize that EVERY property has government restrictions on the dimensions of the building and the use within it?[/quote]

Of course there are building codes for every building constructed, but the limitations caused by the Landmark status are ridiculous. Some aspects like the Marquee are charming and the Ricketts family probably would have wanted to replicate. But some of the landmarked items like the scoreboard were stupid and interfered with how the reconstruction may have otherwise been handled.

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Go Cubs!!!!

I really don't know why anyone would want to watch a game from the rooftops. When I was a kid a buddy of mine took me to his friend's apartment building on Waveland and we went on the roof to look at the ballpark from up there. he had folding chairs set up on the roof back then. I took a look and thought "This is a terrible view, too far away" and have never gone on a rooftop since. I understand that food and drinks are included in the rooftop pricing and that is probably a big factor in some people wanting to sit up there. but I want a better view than that. I will actually be watching the game while it's being played, so no thank you.

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Go Cubs!!!!

Of course there are building codes for every building constructed, but the limitations caused by the Landmark status are ridiculous. Some aspects like the Marquee are charming and the Ricketts family probably would have wanted to replicate. But some of the landmarked items like the scoreboard were stupid and interfered with how the reconstruction may have otherwise been handled.[/quote]

Why do you like Wrigley?

This is an honest question.

You don't seem to like the rooftop aspect. You don't seem to like the scoreboard.

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O judgment! Thou art fled to brutish beasts,
And men have lost their reason.

Did. Not. Happen.

_________________
Anybody here seen my old friend Bobby?
Can you tell me where he's gone?
I thought I saw him walkin' up to The Hill
With Matthew, Tulsi, and Don

Of course there are building codes for every building constructed, but the limitations caused by the Landmark status are ridiculous. Some aspects like the Marquee are charming and the Ricketts family probably would have wanted to replicate. But some of the landmarked items like the scoreboard were stupid and interfered with how the reconstruction may have otherwise been handled.[/quote]

dolphin, could you explain to this guy that the landmark status really didn't limit them. They were allowed to destroy the "uninterrupted sweep" of the bleachers with those vile Jumbotrons. They could have negotiated around any landmark they wanted. If they wanted the scoreboard gone they could have gotten rid of it. All of that stuff was negotiable.

_________________
Anybody here seen my old friend Bobby?
Can you tell me where he's gone?
I thought I saw him walkin' up to The Hill
With Matthew, Tulsi, and Don

I love going to roof top games. It's just another way to see a game from a different perspective. After sitting in the bleachers, boxes, upper deck box, and elsewhere, it's a nice change of pace.

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Hawaii (fuck) You

Great call Joe.
I also hate the laundry rooms of those buildings unless the Cubs own them.

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Kenny Williams fell for the banana in the tailpipe

Actually, it did. My Grandparents owned a 2 flat (3833 N. Clark st.) across from where Nuts on Clark is located today. It was a dry cleaners back then. The next door neighbor George Cradick and his brothers (Jim and John were CPD) and I all wound up being friends and playing softball and Basketball together, as well as going smelt fishing back when there were a lot of smelt in Lake Michigan. George was the one who took me over to his friend's building, where the folding chairs were on top of the roof. I remember thinking about buying one of those apartment buildings back around 1980 and could have bought one for $37,000. They were in lousy condition and the neighborhood had issues with gangs. The Latin Kings and Latin Eagles made the streets a bit dicey at night in some areas. I have been to 782 games now and have sat in seats in just about every location at least once. The upper deck, I have only been in just once, as I hated the view for many of the same reasons as I hated the rooftop view....too far away. I don't like the seats right behind home plate either, as I hate the screen/ netting. The first 5 rows on the first base side behind the dugout are best. You get sunshine all day for a day game, can look into the Cubs dugout and can heckle the players from the opposing team.

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Go Cubs!!!!

Upper deck box is a solid place to watch the game. But to each his own.

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Hawaii (fuck) You

I think it'd be amusing if they eventually heightened the buildings so they could see over the scoreboards.

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Power is always in the hands of the masses of men. What oppresses the masses is their own ignorance, their own short-sighted selfishness.
- Henry George

Hah, yes that would be funny. Block view to make more money. Buy buildings on the cheap. Raise buildings to restore view.


Or what if they took down all the boards they just put up?

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Hawaii (fuck) You

That's something I'm surprised wasn't a proposal during the negotiations. Honestly though, to me it looks like the views are entirely blocked or not at all.

However, if the city did something like raise the height/density limits in the buildings directly adjoining, the increase in value might have been enough to cover the loss caused by the Cubs.

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O judgment! Thou art fled to brutish beasts,
And men have lost their reason.

You're so full of shit it's unreal. Upper Box Infield are some of the best seats in Wrigley.

No, club boxes are the best. Field boxes are pretty good too. Anything in the upper deck sucks. You do understand that the upper deck boxes are directly above the grandstand seats, although they call grandstand seats Terrace reserved these days to make them seem better. Those suck too, unless there is a long rain delay and shelter from the weather becomes a factor. Unless it was a playoff/ World Series game, I would rather be at home than sit anywhere in the grandstand or upper deck.

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Go Cubs!!!!

I've never sat there but it looks like it would suck, I gotta be closer and in the Sun.

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I've never sat there but it looks like it would suck, I gotta be closer and in the Sun.

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