Cubs: LF Video Board To Be Ready Opening Night, But RF Video Board Further Delayed
(CBS) With Opening Night just five days away and construction still ongoing in the first phase of Wrigley Field renovations, the Cubs said Tuesday that the left-field video board will be ready for Sunday when Chicago hosts the St. Louis Cardinals in front of a national television audience, but the timeline for the right-field video board has been further delayed, Cubs spokesman Julian Green confirmed.
In good news, panels for the 3,900-square-foot left-field video board began going up Tuesday morning after the steel framework had been completed, so it's on schedule to be operational. The bad news is that the right-field video board that was expected to be ready in June now isn't scheduled to be completed until mid-July,.. The Budweiser sign that will be on the right-field video board will be placed in a temporary location. Those will be the only two signs/objects in the outfield when the season starts.
The Cubs also confirmed that the four-phase plan to renovate Wrigley Field will most likely take five offseasons to complete instead of four, as owner Tom Ricketts hinted at previously. That would have the $375-million renovation completely done prior to the start of the 2019 season.
The left-field and center-field bleachers remain on schedule to open for fans on May 11. The right-field bleachers are still expected to be done in mid-June.
Wrigleyville resident Kristen Hunter says she would just settle for sidewalk completion.
"I'm more looking forward to this construction being done so when we walk down the street we have both sidewalks," Hunter said.
Statues of Ernie Banks and Ron Santo will be in place by the stadium for Sunday's opener, but the Harry Caray statue that was previously behind the center-field scoreboard won't be there this season.
Team spokesman Julian Green quashed some rumors and speculation as the Cubs get set to host the St. Louis Cardinals on Easter Sunday.
"There have no been discussions with the Chicago White Sox about playing our home opener at U.S. Cellular . At no time has Major League Baseball intervened in our construction project," Green said Tuesday on a conference call with the media.