Ricketts: Wrigley Field Renovation Likely To Take An Extra Year
(CBS) The long-term renovation of Wrigley Field may take a year longer than originally anticipated, Cubs owner Tom Ricketts said Wednesday while speaking at the City Club's luncheon.
The 1060 Project was scheduled to be completed between the 2017 and 2018 seasons, but it now appears that it will take a fifth year to complete. That would have the $375-million project done before the 2019 season begins.
"There will be four more years," Ricketts said. "The way we project it now is four more years of construction."
A spokesman for Ricketts then added in comments to the Sun-Times that nothing's for certain now -- it's possible the project could take the original four-year plan but five years is also very much in play.
The weather has already given the Cubs fits this offseason in the first phase of remodeling, as cold temperatures delayed steel work and water pipe issues slowed them as well. The result is that the bleachers won't be ready for Opening Day when the Cubs host the Cardinals on April 5. The team had hoped that the bleachers would be ready for the opener, but the left-field/center-field bleachers now won't be ready until May and the right-field bleachers are delayed until June.
The second phase of the renovation will be headlined by building a new home clubhouse among other work. The third phase will be marked by restoration work on the first-base concourse and the visitors' locker room. The fourth phase will be focused on more first-base concourse work and a two-story retail and entertainment complex in the right-field corner.
