Chicago Cubs cancel 2022 Cubs Convention due to COVID-19 concerns

If you were looking forward to Cubs Convention in January, you’ll have to wait another year.

After the Chicago Cubs cancelled last year’s festivities due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the team announced the decision to forego this year’s event as well for the same reason. A lot has changed since January 2021 – namely the development and availability of life-saving vaccines – but due to the still-present risks associated with the virus, we’ll have to wait until at least 2023 to see one another at Cubs Convention.

"“We’re not doing it to suggest that indoor gatherings are not safe,” Cubs senior vice president of communications Julian Green said. “It’s just another step that we want to take as an organization to do our part to limit the potential of any spread, especially when it involves our fans and our players.”"

Breakthrough infections for fully vaccinated individuals remain rare – but in hosting an event like this, you get into a lot of decisions the club surely doesn’t want to deal with. The largest of those would be deciding whether or not to require attendees to be fully vaccinated and wear face coverings, which is commonplace in many parts of the country but have also been met, by some, with hostility.

It seems like forever ago already, but the Cubs didn’t even host full capacity games at Wrigley Field this year until June, when Anthony Rizzo turned in one of the most impressive at-bats I’ve ever seen in person against the Cardinals. Fans certainly showed their excitement to be back in the seats, too, unleashing a beer cup snake that was valued north of $40,000. 

Chicago Cubs: When Cubs Convention returns, it’ll be a raucous affair

Given the league’s COVID protocols – which require anyone interacting with players to be fully vaccinated – it’s not hard to understand why the Cubs decided to take a rain check on the previously annual fan fest, which first kicked off back in 1986. The team’s crosstown rival also canceled their event for this winter for similar reasons.

"“But I think for us, hosting an ancillary fan event that’s outside of the baseball season, it just made sense to kind of make this call to take every available precaution, especially as we head into the winter months.”"

Cubs Convention is always a highlight of the year for me. It closes the book on the holiday season and gets me fired up for spring training. It’s always great to see all the current and former players, hear from key decision makers and, most importantly, get to connect with my fellow Cubs fans.

There’s nothing like Wayne Messmer emceeing bingo night, reminding us that the prizes for each round often include flags that flew above ‘beautiful and historic Wrigley Field’ or tracking down a piece of memorabilia you’ve had your eye on for years.

But right now, for the safety of one another and the players we root for, we need to sit this one out. Make no mistake – once Cubs Convention returns (hopefully in 2023, which is the team’s plan right now), we’ll have to come back louder than ever to celebrate the best fandom in sports.