Inside Look Into Cubs New Clubhouse
CHICAGO (CBS) -- It has been called a dump in the past, but no more. CBS 2's Jim Williams got a tour of the Cubs' brand new clubhouse.
Williams reports every conceivable amenity a major league player would want is within the clubhouse's 30,000 square feet.
To see the Cubs' new clubhouse is to wonder why a player would ever want to leave it.
"This place feels like home and it's so comfortable and so enjoyable," said Cubs president Theo Epstein.
Top team executives led the tour through hallways adorned with photos and memorabilia of good times and Cubs history.
"What we're trying to do on a daily basis to remember who went before us," said Cubs president of business operations Crane Kenney.
Inside where the Cubs dress, the room is enormous, a circular design aimed at fostering camaraderie.
"There's no one player who has a loftier position or loftier stature than any other player," Epstein said. "They're all equals. They're all teammates."
Even the lighting was created with player performance in mind.
"We can actually set the tone when the team's getting home late a night versus having a day game and setting the light appropriately," said Carl Rice, Cubs vice president of business operations.
The strength and condition room dwarfs the old one.
"On room dimensions, you could actually fit seven of the rooms that used to be on the other side of the ballpark into here," Rice said.
What happened to the old clubhouse? It houses the batting cages.
Cubs president Theo Epstein believes all of 30,000 square feet might attract valuable free agents.
"A couple of our players were already joking that we're going to have to turn free agents away," Epstein said. "Too bad there are only 25 rosters. We're going to have to go with no vacancy from time to time. They think their friends around the league are all going to want to play here when they hear how nice this clubhouse is."
There's even more to the clubhouse. The players' lounge includes a ping pong table and other games.
