Chicago Cubs: How the Wrigley Field experience has changed in my lifetime

Chicago Cubs: Wrigley in the 1990s had changed very little in decades

It’s the summer of 1999. You are on the way to Wrigley Field on the “L” with Blink-182’s “All the Small Things” playing on your Sony D191 Discman Portable CD player. All that is on your mind regarding the game is how many times Sammy Sosa will crush a ball onto Waveland Avenue today. Regardless of how the team was doing, seeing Sosa was a main attraction that year.

Upon arrival at the Addison stop, you get off and see all the other Cubs fans heading toward the park. Families with their kids wearing blue foam bear claws on their hands and bleacher bums in raddy jorts and white t-shirts as far as the eye can see. Taking a stroll around the entire park before going in, you pass by Waveland and Kenmore Avenue to see the ballhawks with their gloves ready. Some are standing in the street, while others are sitting in folding chairs on the street corner next to the Budweiser building. Moving down Clark Street, the sight of Yum Yum Donuts/Byron’s Hot Dog stand tempts you to stop in before the game.

As you head to the main entrance under the marquee, you can hear Gary Pressey’s organ music playing from the inside. You step through the old, noisy turnstile after showing your ticket stub. Then you go up the stairs to see the whole field as you walk up. What a sight! The bleachers are already full of white t-shirts and shirtless individuals alike, the ivy is pure green, the Torco sign on Sheffield Avenue looks over the field, banners and signs are stuck in the chainlink fences in the left and right field corners, and people are standing on the rooftops across the street. Life is good.

You get to your seat on this hot day and the Frosty Malt vendor with his yellow-padded box walks by with the perfect heat cure! The lineup is announced and as soon as Wayne Messmer announces Sammy Sosa’s name, the crowd goes nuts. All walkup music is played on the organ, with very little DJ music playing. Sosa is then greeted by cheers in the right field bleachers as he takes the field and stands in his spot where the grass is all worn and faded. The game starts and a close call is made at first base, the crowd boos and the only way you can see a replay is looking up at the old, fuzzy image square televisions attached to the supporting columns of the grandstands. If you’re in the bleachers, you’re out of luck altogether.

All is good when Sosa the following inning hits a deep drive to center field and the ball disappears in the batter’s eye, completely composed of juniper bushes. “Can he hit 60+ again?” Despite not seeing the overall team replicate the magic of 1998, and are losing on a regular basis again, being at the ballpark is still the best feeling in the world.

Chicago Cubs:  Some traditions are gone, but many remain with new features.

As mentioned earlier, the ballpark has kept the iconic features that distinguish the park from the others. What really has changed is what is around the park and what is within the arteries of the park.

Mainly looking around the field and stands, the biggest difference is the video boards and advertising. The boards are quite large and there is significantly more advertising around the park. The main advertising around the park in the old days was the Budweiser roof and the Torco sign, both of which are gone. No more fences in the bleacher corners as they have been expanded twice, once in 2005 and again in 2014. If you sit in the bleachers and compare a photo of the grandstands today and back then, it looks pretty much the same. Most of the restoration on the exterior of the grandstand kept the same shape as it had been.

It can be understandable to not feel the video boards, but they can also add a lot of the experience. Seeing stats, replays, and other video presentations is nice to have as a fan. Looking at a replay on a big video board is better than an old box TV on a pole, in my opinion. The nice thing is the old scoreboard still functions the same way as it had for decades and still has its purpose.

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The interior concourses and facilities were no question needed for updating. As fans, we do not experience the clubhouse facilities, but for those who have seen the old ones on tours, it is well known those older facilities were horrific. In terms of concourses and amenities, there is more space to move and more bathroom space. As fun as it was in the 90s, the bathrooms of old were small and incredibly disgusting. It is so much cleaner and spacious now. The concessions are also so much better, between the choices and just the overall food quality.

One of, if not the best changes in my opinion was Gallagher Way. A place where people can relax before, during, or after the game. It has shops, food, drinks, fountains and places for kids to play. That is 100X better than the ugly player’s parking lot. It also had allowed for other events to be hosted there on non-game days/offseason. That has worked out so well.

There are so many other details to look at, but overall I think it is fair to say we can acknowledge most of the changes were for the better, while still having a nostalgic soft spot for the “old” Wrigley Field. Memories of our first games will always be cherished, but sometimes it takes change to realize how what we loved was both great and faulty.

Yes, Wrigley was a bit more casual back in the 90s and was more affordable, but many of those amenities just would not hold up today. Stadiums evolve, as does our taking in of sports. That does not mean what we loved in the 90s was not worth loving.

I will admit there are old things I miss. The Torco sign seems insignificant, but it was part of the park of my childhood. As much as I like the video boards, it was nice to soak in some of that neighborhood atmosphere while sitting in the upper deck before they were there. Admittedly not a big fan of the club under the pressbox, blocking the main walkway to get around the entire grandstand.

While Gallagher Way is great, the other mall areas around the park have taken away a lot of old businesses and look a bit out of place. Overall though I am glad I can still enjoy Wrigley today as I did as a kid.