Wrigley Field Renovation Set To Begin After Cubs' Final Home Game
Updated 09/25/14 - 7:07 a.m.
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Construction crews will be taking over Wrigley Field by the end of the week, now that the Cubs are have hosted their last home game of the 2014 season.
Fans say they're becoming more and more pleased with what they have seen on the field. But they remain split over the renovations to Wrigley Field.
Despite the team's dreadful start, the Cubs' season attendance topped last year's, finishing around 2,650,000. That's an average of nearly 33,000 a game, the 11th best in the majors, and an increase of roughly 9,000 fans in total from 2013.
Some fans say next year could be the year for the Cubs, who last won a pennant in 1945 and haven't won a World Series since 1908. Others have expectations that are not quite so high, but all expect next year's team to finish higher in the standings.
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The fans are far more split on the renovations, and the Jumbotron seems to be the lightning rod. Fans either love it or hate it.
"I could sit at home and watch replays," said Frank Juravic, a lifelong Cub fan from Aurora. "I come to watch a baseball game, feel the atmosphere. I really don't need a Jumbotron to enhance that."
Younger fans and those from out of town seem more accepting.
"That's cool," said Pamela Carrisales of Lubbock, Texas, who attended her first game at Wrigley Field with boyfriend Junior Jimenez.
"I'm still nostalgic for the old Comiskey Park," said Fred Ciba of Wilmette. "I liked the old Comiskey Park better than the new Comiskey Park."
He said he's afraid that after spending millions of dollars on renovations, flash and sizzle, the "new" Wrigley Field won't be as good as the "old" one.
"But what are you going to do?" he lamented.
A couple of fans said that a new clubhouse could be reason enough for the Cubs to play better.
Don't forget that WBBM 780 will be the new radio home of the Cubs next year.
